Trevor by Nick Jones

"This fable, inspired by actual occurrences, is structurally ingenious, animal and human perspectives interweaving in ways that swerve from hilarious to heartbreaking to house-stilling."

"Sweet, clever and weirdly touching... Trevor's absurdist mixture of showbiz satire and real-life poignancy is so continually delightful, in fact, that you may not notice, as it flows by, how resonant the story actually is."

"Sly, witty... What makes this taut play...so impressive is not that it makes us understand and even like a dangerous ape, but that it does so while imagining him as an obnoxious jerk... Plays like Sylvia and Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo have found humor in animals speaking like humans. But in Trevor the laughs (and there are many) have an edge."

"Part comedy, part fantasy, part magical realism, 'inspired by true events,' and ending in tragedy, Nick Jones's Trevor is loopy and shaggy and outrageous and pretty great."

"From that opening, the play's grim trajectory becomes inevitable. That it also proves such a deliciously laugh-packed ride can finally be attributed to the split-second precision of an inspired ensemble... and director Stella Powell-Jones' flawless production."

"This is a comedy with a very, very long shadow... Or maybe it's the most enjoyable brooding drama ever written."

"Hugely entertaining tragicomedy...the genius of [Jones's] play is how he has so cleverly humanized both characters."

"Cleverly structured... Actors will like Jones' satire at the expense of the entertainment business, which loves to tell actors who they are and what tricks they should do, and then wonders why some of them learn how to bite."

"The show, like the monkey, refuses to be what you expect...calling something that makes you cry almost as much as you laugh 'just' a comedy is about as accurate as calling an actor who wears a bunch of funny hats and sunglasses in front of a live audience 'just' a chimpanzee."

"(A) clever, subversive comedy... Trevor toes the line between mordant humor and self-seriousness with aplomb."

"Under its zany exterior...the play touches on serious topics: the trauma of has-been actors trying to get back into the game, and what happens when people anthropomorphize animals... All that plus a chimp playing a toy guitar, then fighting a human for the remote control? Few shows cover as many bases."

"Feral, funny, and in-your-face violent, Trevor [is] a tale of monkeyshines that, well, truly shone."