“ rollicking piece of gig theatre…fabulous drag king aesthetic…bubbles over with charisma”

— The Guardian on Modest (2023)

“ 75 sweatily intense, adrenalin-pumping minutes, skilfully supervised by director Paul Smith….setting fire to your expectations of what theatre can be”

— The Telegraph on All We Ever Wanted Was Everything (2017)

“Gig theatre is a sometimes superficially applied label, but here, director Paul Smith succeeds in making sure that it’s completely core to the show’s timely message about identity – individually, socially and how we tell people’s stories.”

— Time Out on The Canary and the Crow (2020)

“ The energy is edifying and we, the audience, are gripped, suspenseful and always suspecting…it really doesn’t get much better than this.”

— The Reviews Hub on Baby, He Loves You (2022)

“Unashamedly joyous…Paul Smith and Maureen Lennon have created a didactic and heartfelt story about the power of creativity, kindness and perseverance.”

— The Stage on There Should Be Unicorns (2022)

“Under Paul Smith’s direction the performances are electrically charged and the show addresses its themes with fierce intensity.”

— The Stage on Us Against Whatever (2019)

“Delivers punch after punch...a hugely pleasurable watch”

— WhatsOnStage on Modest (2023)

“Clever, moving, challenging and vital”

— The Hull Story on Baby, He Loves You (2022)

“Paul Smith’s direction rejects any moment of stasis. The play spirals dynamically in its every beat, constantly in motion..”

— A Younger Theatre on The Canary and the Crow (2019)

“Paul Smith's direction has us bopping from our seats… It's a rousing and invigorating call to arms.”

— WhatsOnStage on All We Ever Wanted Was Everything (2017)

“Its raucous energy defies the bounds of a more conventional theatrical space…the joy of chaos underpins Smith’s work on this show and make it an absolute joy to watch..”

— Hull Is This on There Should Be Unicorns (2022)

“Exceptional”

— The Stage on Modest (2023)

“Middle Child’s gritty show, a terrific piece of popular theatre, is a love letter to the city of Hull itself and all its many inhabitants. It’s messy and it's heart-felt... a brilliant night, both charged and urgent”

— Lyn Gardner on Us Against Whatever (2019)

“a bouncy show that’s easy to love, but it will inspire serious conversations.”

— The Evening Standard on The Canary and the Crow (2020)

“directed by Paul Smith, and presented in brilliantly inventive style by a cast of four including Ward himself and two classical musicians, The Canary And The Crow is essentially a play with songs which uses every means available in the Roundabout – monologue, intense dialogue, old and new bird-legends, grime- and hip-hop inspired songs and sequences, and also the prestigious musical sounds of the classical tradition – to capture a sense of the fiercely complex and contested cultural and social landscape through which Dan travels..”

— The Scotsman on The Canary and the Crow (2019)

“ Different communities are united in that same feeling of hope and home. Paul Smith’s direction aids this beautifully. The staging is indulgently performative yet edged in whip-crack satire. The mining of theatrical convention is expertly played. Despite this, the stylistic commitment never dampens the force of the human story. Smith makes great use of silence. The pacing of the show is musical in itself, allowing the audience to give in to the feeling of it.”

— A Younger Theatre on Us Against Whatever (2019)

“ the best use of the gig theatre form the company has ever displayed.”

— Whats On Stage on The Canary and the Crow (2019)

“brilliant gig theatre”

— Lyn Gardner on All We Ever Wanted Was Everything (2017)

“ It’s an exhilarating, sweaty, and eardrum-pounding show…there’s a youthful exuberance and a swagger (…) which leaves the audience spun about and spat out the other side feeling a little bit altered.”

— The Stage on All We Ever Wanted Was Everything (2017)

“This year's Fringe surely bears few more evocative reflections of life as a British twentysomething in 2018.”

— The Scotsman on One Life Stand (2018)

“Paul Smith’s engrossingly seamy production…few shows have captured the conflicting emotions evoked by dating apps and social media. None has done it as stylishly as this.”

— The Stage on One Life Stand (2018)

“It’s a cocky, noisy swaggering sort of show, but it’s also unexpectedly, genuinely moving – catching you off guard, taking hold of you and twisting.”

— The Stage on Weekend Rockstars (2016)

“Weekend Rockstars sizzles with youthful energy, assisted by the frenetic music that underlines the whole show…a vibrant, fun, touching production that is gold dust for engaging young audiences in theatre. ”

— A Younger Theatre on Weekend Rockstars (2016)

“Is it a gig? Is it a storytelling piece? Is it a play? Middle Child’s account of the worst week in one man’s life is all these things and more.”

— The Guardian on Weekend Rockstars (2016)