REVIEWS
Below is a selection of reviews.
USAGI YOJIMBO - Southwark Playhouse
"Ronin Traynor's rousing fight choreography proves well worth the wait".
Mark Valencia, What's on Stage
"Lots of well choreographed fights."
Kate Gould, South London Press
"Splendid displays of swordplay both in training and in deadly earnest, there is plenty of action".
Howard Loxton, British Theatre Guide
"Boisterous teens will be more than satisfied by the amount of fun comic-book-style fighting".
Daisy Bowie-Sell, Time Out
"The fight direction throughout is of an incredible quality. Bamboo sticks, twin sai, swords; the performers look skilled using several weapons".
Joanna Trainor, Bargain Theatre Land
The fights are excellently choreographed and thrilling.
Carolin Kopplin, UK Theatre Network
"Stunningly choreographed fight scenes - genuine sword skills being played out right there on stage. It's quick, accurate and genuinely quite exciting". 4 STARS
Tim Bano, Exeunt
"Exciting fight sequences, which helped pace the show well".
Leo West, The Upcoming
THE HARD MAN - Finborough Theatre
"Claustrophobically brutal... The audience sit there, backs hunched, fists clenched, heart in mouth. Never has an interval felt so necessary. The production is technically superb".
Daniel Harrison, A Younger Theatre
"This is not a play for the feint of heart. It deals with excessively violent imagery and gore as well as difficult to watch scenes of sexual assault... and will certainly leave audiences both repelled and drawn in to such a violent and thought provoking evening of theatre".
Emily Pulham, Everything Theatre
"Many, many scenes of hard and fast violence courtesy of expert fight director Ronin Traynor. This is an intensely physical production which shows the endless ways to brutalise another human being from skull cracking to eye gouging".
Mark Dominy, The Public Reviews
"Genuinely frightening - especially one moment when Byrne, lying on the floor after attacking a prison guard, gets a fierce kick to the nose and flecks of blood and spit go flying across the stage.
It is at the extremes that the production works best: Byrne and Paisley outdoing each other in pure, unbridled, throbbing veined insanity, along with the more graphic and violent scenes".
Timothy Bano, The Upcoming
"The Hard Man is unrelenting and grim in the depiction of violence perpetrated by Byrne - and of that inflicted upon him ... Ronin Traynor choreographs the violence with chilling effect".
Dennis Poole, Morning Star
SEGA's TOTAL WAR
"Frenetic ranged and hand-to-hand combat. Empathy is a sign of a truly immersive game, and Creative Assembly have nailed it. You can't help but feel sorry for the poor souls they modelled these collections of pixels on".
Dan Cheer, Game Planet
"The seamless precision in which the actors choreographed their moves was really impressive to watch".
Mark O’Connell, Total War.Com
"Thousands and thousands of individual units take part in these fastidiously detailed skirmishes, making for one of the greatest spectacles in videogames".
Kelly MacDonald, The Observe
"Plenty of the visceral hand-to-hand scuffles that helped make the Total War series an evergreen favourite".
David McComb, Empire
"The fighting is beautifully fluid".
Keith Stuart, Game
"The combat is incredibly visceral and great fun to watch".
Straybolt, Games Xtream
"You see your warriors as if they are samurai with great skill. Movement and choreography for your small Total War soldiers is really inspiring"
Hakkology, Game Spot
"Graceful sword fights and choreographed manoeuvres. Shogun 2 is simply a stunning achievement".
Dave Cook, Now Gamer
MACBETH - International Tour
"The fight scenes are something to behold, choreographed brilliantly, they are almost terrifying. I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins".
Stage, Screen & the Mistyque
"Macduff versus Macbeth has definitely been the most impressive stage fight I've ever seen".
Customer Review, Globe Neuss Germany - Shakespeare Festival
"The high-octane opening battle sets the scene for this dark tale of intrigue and violence... The action is fast-moving and unrelenting, so pay attention".
David Kerr, Carrick Biz
"Striking fight choreography which explodes onstage at the requisite points".
Keith D, Edinburgh Spotlight
"It starts well - with a dynamic fight sequence that seems to populate the stage with dozens of combatants despite a cast of only seven".
Portsmouth News, The Kings Theatre, Portsmouth
"The play explodes into action with a high-powered fight sequence using real swords, axes and spears that superbly captured the intensity of battle. ... a bloodthirsty graphic and vivid ending".
Robin Strapp, The British Theatre Guide
"The big ‘set piece’ battle scenes were very well choreographed and the murders of Banquo and Lady Macduff and her “little ones” were chillingly staged".
David Francombe, Petersfield Post
HAMLET - National Tour
"Impressive fight choreography from Ronin Traynor".
Graham Ashton, Pugwash News
Ref the final fight - "This scene, it has to be said was well choreographed and a welcome livener"
Jenni Dixon, The Public Reviews
"There’s an extremely effective duel - Ronin Traynor is the fight director".
Anne Morley-Priestman, Whats On Stage
CANTERBURY TALES - Southwark Playhouse
"The cast then hurl themselves into telling ‘The Knight’s Tale’, battling it out so violently that you fear for their safety, that is until you realise that they wield violin bows as weapons and cymbals as shields".
Lois Jeary, Exeunt Magazine
"The fight scene between Harry Napier and Matt Salisbury using a violin bow and cymbals was very funny and effective".
Elizabeth Vile, The Public Reviews
JUKAI - Blue Elephant Theatre
"The fight was wincingly good particularly when it went into reverse.
All in all I would highly recommend it"!
Customer Comments
"The fight scene was easily my favourite part which fight choreographer Ronin Traynor deserves credit for".
Victoria Claringbold, Theatre Reviews London
"The physicality of each character in every scene has clearly been given a huge amount of consideration".
Amy Yorston, The British Theatre Guide
CAN YOU SEE ME YET? - Brockley Jack Theatre
" This Language Laid Bare production pulls no punches thanks to fight director Ronin Traynor and the best theatrical slaps, pokes and prods I have ever seen".
Philip Herbert, Remote Goat
"Fight director Ronin Traynor and choreographer Lisette Foster contribute neat sequences appropriate for the abilities of the cast, stage capacity, and style of the production".
Tara Paulsson , Fringe Report
ROMEO & JULIET - International Tour
"The fight scenes between Mercutio and Tybalt are extraordinary, especially so when you take into account the shoe-box sized stage and the length of an Elizabethan longsword".
Helen Brown, British Theatre Guide
"The sword fighting scenes were fast and furious, and Romeo’s vengeful murder of Tybalt was gruesomely executed amid a fountain of blood".
Christina McIntyre , Darlington and Stockton Time
"The sword fight scenes were well acted and choreographed".
Catherine Ferris, Shropshire Star
"I particularly enjoyed the cleverly choreographed sword fights".
Nathan Glasspool, Gloucestershire Echo
