Reviews & Media

"There’s something mesmerising about good puppetry that makes you forget you are watching an artificial creation and in Ester Natzijl’s haunting Watching, ceci n’est pas de deux we witness a defining moment in dance, drama and puppetry."

Reviews Hubby Glen Pierce

"From the funny to the frightening, Ester Natzijl brings us the stuff of nightmares in her horror pas de deux ceci n’e pas de deux. Two crouching bodies are lying motionless, both seemingly human, but one is a life-sized animated puppet. Clay grey, bald headed and eerily soft limbed, the terrifying humanoid Smeagol evokes both empathy and terror, changing mood within seconds. Is it a manipulative partner or an inner demon, an oversized baby or a helpless dependent elder? Is the creature suffering or actually suffocating its host? A masterful bit of horror theatre that really should go straight to the London Mime Festival."

The Place - Londonby Suzanne Frost

"Yet this show is more than simply clever technique and accomplished dance; this is a deep and moving piece of theatre, rich with meaning; it speaks of desire and fear, attraction and narcissism, the other and the self."

Brighton and Hove newsby Kate Darach

“An experience that lingers long after the performance is over”

"Ester Natzijl and Babiche Ronday create a performance inspired by the cuts in government funding of the arts. A power struggle between a circus ringmaster and the last artist on Earth (a ballerina) painfully shows dependency, authority and tyranny at work. These two sceptical women really grasped what art could be like in a possible future without funding. A confronting image that hurts and terrifies. Its imaginative scenography, great acting and clever scenes captivate from beginning to end."

Fringe Review - PROPS!by Lieke van Hoogenhuyze

"This stunning performance redefines our opinion of what puppetry actually means but beyond that it also redefines the possibilities for both theatre and dance in a performance that will long in both the memory and the soul."

Reviews HubGlen Pierce

» Read full review on Reviews Hub – by Glen Pierce

“Inspirational as a great piece of theatre but also inspirational for actions lived not staged.”

Ulysses

"Rich in philosophy, humour, bold and in the disturbing unknown.Ester brings her marionette to thrilling life."

Fringe ReviewRadio interview with Paul Levy

“Brilliant and meaningful.”

Reggie

Media

Video about Ester Natzijl:

Watch the full version of WATCHING, ceci n’est pas de deux on Dramox:

Radio interview with Paul Levy on Fringe Review: