Reviews
I'm Okay... (short film) by James C. Stewart (wait, that's me!)
"Quirky and memorable with a hilarious performance from the lead." - One-Reeler Short Film Competition
"Witty and eccentric, the very short film — a clever cinematic version of a one-man show — is capable of entertaining using a single, simple scene, set in one single room with one single actor. The idea of letting the character speak and even discuss with himself, revealing the various forms of his psyche, and driving this to the extreme fiction of many personalities of the same individual arguing with each other, is a winning choice. And the result is hilarious."
- Close:Up San Francisco Short Film Festival
Twelfth Night with Ripple Effect Artists
"As an added bonus, she even looks like her 'twin' brother Sebastian, played by James C. Stewart. Sadly, Sebastian is a fairly small role in the grand scheme of things, but James somehow manages to make his brief forays onto the stage memorable."
"The whole of the cast knew how to deliver Shakespeare in a fluid, believable manner. On top of that, every performance is delivered with a decided style and flair that truly speaks of the talent at hand."
- Joseph Conway, OuterStage
Gabriel with Redd Tale Theatre Company
"Cameran Hebb and James Stewart (Susan and Pierce), as Henry's married colleagues, have the perfect kind of chemistry. They play hilariously off of each other, and come across as that couple that doesn't seem like they match together but they seem to fit so perfectly somehow."
"Gabriel is tightly directed and fantastically performed across the board."
- Michael Mraz, nytheatre.com
Macbeth with Redd Tale Theatre Company
"Stewart brings a rich portrayal of a man deeply in love with his wife and torn between love and honor. Stewart depicts Macbeth as a brave man and competent warrior caught between what is utterly dishonorable and immoral and the promises of powers he mistakenly thinks he can command. 'Tomorrow and tomorrow,' perhaps one of Shakespeare’s most nihilistic soliloquies, coming as it does upon the death of Lady Macbeth, often makes it seem that Macbeth has an attitude of 'Oh well, she’s dead. Whatever.' Stewart, however, reveals a Macbeth devastated by her death, not nihilistic. He is a man with nothing left to lose, making him reckless and dangerous."
- Jen Gunnels, The New York Review of Science Fiction
Hate Crimes with Bovine University and The Bacchanals
"Fifteen-year-old Gareth Boyd (James Stewart, perfectly cast despite being over twice Gareth's age) is a sensitive, awkward kid who's bullied at school and ignored at home by his mother, Marlene."
- Jonathan Potts, studentz.co.nz
"James Stewart and Alex Grieg realise the complexities of Gareth and Felix with great authenticity."
- John Smyth, National Business Review
A Midsummer Night's Dream with The Bacchanals
"James Stewart's Francis Flute who plays Thisbe in a Mary Pickford wig is delightful as he holds up the rehearsal while he gets into the role and his suicide with a prop he has had to improvise demonstrates that comedy doesn't always have to be broad to be achingly funny."
- Laurie Atkinson, Dominion Post
"James Stewart's brilliant quirks add to the show greatly."
- Waitomo News
"James Stewart and David Lawrence have been with The Bacchanals right from the start and it shows in their performances - magic."
"The cast is outstanding, this is ensemble work at its absolute best. The timing was exquisite, energy unflagging, characterisation spot on."
- Lynn Freeman, Capital News
Romeo and Juliet with The Bacchanals
" James Stewart plays four roles: a servant, a comic Cousin Capulet looking as if he had escaped from a silent movie, Tybalt and Friar Laurence. As Tybalt, he conveys the hatred of the Capulets for the Montagues with an unnerving controlled intensity and he contrasts this with his portrayal of the well-meaning friar."
- Laurie Atkinson, The Dominion Post
The Bacchae with The Bacchanals
"James Stewart brings a real gravity to the godly role, sneering, shouting and silencing, his confidence in the role is apparent from go to whoa."
- Jonathan Potts, studentz.co.nz
"The small cast each played many parts, and James Stewart's subtle changes as he played two characters at once was a highlight."
- Steph Walker, The Package
Twelfth Night or What You Will with The Bacchanals
"James Stewart dances with such inelegant grace as Sir Andrew Aguecheek one wishes he would do an encore."
- Laurie Atkinson, The Dominion Post
"...remarkably nimble, multi-faceted, delightfully funny James Stewart, who made the house roar"
- Hazel Menehira, Wanganui Chronicle
"The members of The Bacchanals who perform in this play are Tina Helm, Carey Smith, Eve Middleton and James Stewart. They create a seamless ensemble exactly like that of a well-balanced string quartet as they recreate the essentially musical rhythm of the writing."
- Timothy O'Brien, The Dominion Post
Volpone or The Fox with The Bacchanals
"There is a hint a commedia dell'arte in James Stewart's gleefully manipulative Volpone and his relationship with Tina Helm's Mosca, a Marty Feldman type with a permanent helium squeak."
- Timothy O'Brien, The Dominion Post
"James Stewart's Volpone is full of nervous energy when Volpone is on the make, and the scenes on his death-bed are heart-rendingly pathetic and funny."
- Laurie Atkinson, The Evening Post