Praise for the Whale's works

for Macbeth Re-Arisen 2008

“An audacious, hilarious, horror movie homage…As pastiches go, Macbeth Re-Arisen is a right bloody marvel. As you can tell, I adored it. It's last performance of the season is tonight: see it, or rue that you've missed it for the rest of your miserable life.”
Richard Watts, December 2008

“…a slick show indeed, with a very solid, energetic cast well-directed by Mence’s economical yet effective staging, facilitated by spot-on set and costume design by Christina Logan-Bell….Macbeth Re-Arisen is a splendidly idiosyncratic script and an extremely memorable show that deserves to go on to wider success. Not to be missed!”
Australian Stage Online, November 2008

“a diabolically entertaining fusion of Shakespearean tragedy and B-grade horror…a hoot.”
Cameron Woodhead, The Age, November 2008

“A wonderfully original play. I highly recommend it to fans of both Shakespeare and zombies, and anyone in between.”
“The intelligent and humorous writing of David Mence (also the director) makes this production flow easily. The dialogue is truly Shakespearean in rhythm and phraseology. It is worth stopping and just thinking about what a tremendous feat this is – a modern play, running for a little under two hours, written in iambic pentameter. The script is engaging, easy to follow, and contains enough Shakespearean in-jokes to satisfy literary buffs.”
Arts Hub, November 2008

for Melburnalia 2007

“White Whale is independent, unfunded and with a creative core not even thinking about turning 30 for a while. Why can't our flagship companies think of (or support) such a brilliant and obvious idea as Melburnalia? This young company is producing original, inventive and intelligent theatre, and they have the support of our best writers. So let's hope we see more and more of them.”
Anne-Marie Peard (Aussie Theatre) Nov 2007

“Newcomers White Whale Theatre continue to impress with sophisticated productions.”
The Blurb, Melbourne Dec 2007

“I hope that White Whale's commissioned suite of five short plays about Melbourne in the here and now are published and can be seen again and again because the five authors have each represented a fragment of the psyche of the Melbourne suburbs; any one of those fragments sure to strike a chord with someone in the audience at any time.”
Magnus Magnusson, On Stage Melbourne 2007

“Full credit to director David Mence who does justice to the wide-ranging material and masters the technical challenges of using a traverse stage.”
Cameron Woodhead, The Age, 2007

for Macbeth Re-Arisen 2006

“5 Stars!”
“Immensely funny and keeps the audience tied to their seats”
“An adventurous production pulled off perfectly by an enthusiastic and talented cast”
“William is probably turning in his grave, but only because he wishes he had written it himself”
Three Weeks, August 2006

“Macbeth meets Shaun of the Dead in B-movie schlock-horror splendour!”
The Scotsman, August 2006

“The writing is simply astounding”
The Edinburgh Guide

“4 Stars!”
“Writing an entire play in Elizabethan pentameter is a risky task but David Mence's script seamlessly leads on from the first instalment. This chainsaw wielding Macbeth is worth seeing”
The List, August 2006