Reviews for Noises Off - International Student Drama Festival 2012   The review, comment and creative pieces here earned David the Harold Hobson Student Drama Critic Award 2012, judge by Robert Hewison of the Sunday Times .   This portfolio includes reviews of: The Lives They Left Behind, Five Names, Inheritance Blues, Gaza Monologues, If Room Enough, Moderate Light Fastness and Zombie Haiku.

David Ralf's winning review portfolio for the 2011 Kenneth Tynan Prize for Reviewing. The Oxford University competition was judged by Irving Wardle of The Observer , and the £150 prize was awarded to David by the Cameron Mackintosh Drama Fund. The portfolio includes reviews of student productions of Far Away , The Maids and The Pillowman, and the 2011 touring production of Porridge .

?According to… by David Ralf Burton Taylor Studio, Tuesday 10th – Saturday 14th November 2009 at 9.30pm Four Stars Review by Arabella Currie More plays should be like this one – they should leave the audience with questions flying around their heads. The initial reaction to According To… is changed utterly by the times the play closes. At first it appears to be a dramatisation of what happens when, after the death of Jesus, Martha and Mary accept an adulteress, Robyn, into their home. By the end the audience is left thinking about the very nature of the story they have just witnessed. The play explores what happens when real people and events become stories, and is new writing at its best. Despite this exploration being primarily expressed through long, set speeches, the play never veers into lecture territory. This is due partly to the homely set (a table full of general kitchen paraphernalia, that can be both a barrier and a communal space,) but primarily to David Ralf’s beautiful script, which balances these speeches with minimal, prosaic responses, sometimes as simple as ‘Yes’. Faced with confusion, one character’s reply is ‘Maybe. Shall we make lunch?’ This intriguing mix...

?According to… by David Ralf Burton Taylor Studio, Tuesday 10th – Saturday 14th November 2009 at 9.30pm Three Stars Review by Charlotte Mulliner You can never really be sure what you’re going to be letting yourself in for when you decide to watch a newly written play about the beginning of the New Testament. One would imagine the plot line would be fairly dry, however David Ralf has put together an interesting and thought provoking piece, brought to life by a highly skilled cast. Ralf puts an interesting spin on the well known biblical characters of Martha and Mary and Ralf’s John Mark is a nervy but fervent protégé in the early Christian church. The dialogue is in the main natural and easy to listen to. There was the odd moment of laughter, though some flippant lines seemed slightly strained. Each of the cast members were convincing in their characters, Alexandra Walsh was a wonderful Martha displaying great variety in her emotions. Eleanor Hafner gave a touching performance as Robyn, the adulteress who is the catalyst to the play’s events. Florence Oakley was suitably vivacious as the ‘bushy tailed’ Mary and Edward Holcroft gave a thoroughly engaging performance as...

?According to... by David Ralf Burton Taylor Studio, Tuesday 10th – Saturday 14th November 2009 at 9.30pm Three Stars Review by Richard Bowles David Ralf’s new play is certainly intellectually ambitious. On a sparse stage filled with only simple rustic kitchenware he tells the story of writing a gospel. He tackles the ideas of authorship, memory and politicisation through the varying accounts of the women of Antioch and their memories of Jesus. However, the strong script occasionally limits the drama onstage. The play’s focus on the importance of words and memory at times detracts from the drama, with the lack of action resulting in some stilted scenes lacking energy or movement. Long, static, seated discussions and stories lost the visual appeal otherwise sustained throughout. Despite these criticisms the action was driven through the strength of the script and the dynamic performances of each of the four strong cast. Alexandra Walsh’s excellent portrayal of a cuttingly cynical Martha sparked many scenes into life and energy lacking elsewhere. Her sharp interplay with Mary, Florence Oakley, and Robyn, Eleanor Hafner, acts as a vibrant battleground of cynicism against idealism, a testing ground for the fundamentals of the play. The characters’ interaction began...