Perth raised actor Daniel Monks has just made his West End debut playing the lead role in Teenage Dick at the Donmar Warehouse.

The play by author Mike Lew is a darkly comic take on Shakespeare’s Richard III, which sees the action relocated to a high school. It’s the first time the play has been performed in the UK.

The production is directed by Donmar Artistic Director Michael Longhurst. The Donmar Warehouse, located in London’s Covent Garden, is one of the leading theatres in the world for innovative theatrical work. Previous artistic directors have included Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke.

Appearing alongside Monks in the production is actor Ruth Madeley, who recently had a feature role in the TV series Years & Years which aired on SBS, and Susan Wokoma.

The first reviews of the show are in and there’s been high praise for the play and Monks’ performance.

British tastemaking website Monstagigz gave the play five stars and said Monks’ performance was “one of the most accomplished performances in any theatre this year.”

While The Guardian described his performance as “dazzling”

“Monks, who gives a dazzling performance in Michael Longhurst’s production, captures all of Richard’s complexity: his rage, his verbal wit and, above all, the tension between his need to be both feared and loved.” said reviewer Michael Billington.

The Stage said Monks’ performance was riveting, while the Evening Standard praised his adaptability.

“Monks slips easily from mock-Shakespearean poetry to manipulative wheedling and enlists the audience’s complicity with a snap of his fingers. He’s properly charming, and properly nasty. It shouldn’t be refreshing, but it is.” wrote Nick Curtis.

Alice Saville, writing at Time Out said MOnks had delivered a ” powerful, detailed central performance is full of internal conflict”.

In recent years Daniel Monks has steadily taken on a string of roles that have earned him repeated praise.  Last year he was nominated for the Best Actor award at the prestigious Helpmann Awards.

Previously Monks has found acclaim in The Malthouse Theatre’s production of The Real and Imagined History of The Elephant Man and CO3’s production of Frank Enstein. Monks also wrote and starred in the independent film Pulse which saw him nominated for an ACCTA for Best Actor.

Find out more about the production.

OIP Staff