Russia, Freaks and Foreigners

"[Bread and Circus Freaks] squarely addresses the clash between old and new Russia... and brings contemporary Russia interestingly into view." - TLS "It's always unsentimental, evocative and surprising." - Time Out "James MacDonald writes very well and has a civilised attitude toward the theatre." - Margaret Ramsay, Literary Agent "The young woman and the old woman between them illustrate the chasms between hope and disillusionment, between naivety and experience and between thereby the old and new Russia. This opposition of expectations creates a strong bond between (them), the younger woman looking up to the older one, and she in turn gaining a fresh perspective on life." - TLS (On Bread and Circus Freaks) "MacDonald's play is successful at moving beyond metaphor, creating fully rounded characters who deal with the political, social and interpersonal dynamics of disability." - Carrie Sandall, Assistant Professor of Theatre at Florida State University (on Balance is Stillness) "For James MacDonald, humour is an essential survival mechanism: not for him the pious solemnities surrounding an 'issue' like disability. He seeks here to portray 'otherness' in general and disability in particular through the prism of Bakhtin's concept of 'carnival'." - East-West Review, Journal of the GB-Russia Society.