London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony

Sydney Morning Herald“Both unexpected and better than expected...” Did not take itself too seriously, but was never trivial. It was irreverent, but never disrespectful. It was clever, but did not outsmart itself. It was at once subversive and sublime...

Washington Post“Rousing and erratic...” It was stunning and stirring at its beginning and end, and a kinetic, bloody mess in between...

Los Angeles Times“I would not have expected to see the rural idyll of the initial set...” Moving, bizarre, funny and exciting, and often surprisingly dark; certainly it was never dull. It had at times a quality of seeming completely random even as one suspected that repeated viewings would reveal all sorts of connections and echoes...

New York Times“hilariously quirky...” It was neither a nostalgic sweep through the past nor a bold vision of a brave new future. Rather, it was a sometimes slightly insane portrait of a country...

The Telegraph“Quietly subversive, stripped of any iconic grandeur or royal pageantry...” Compared to the usually banal platitudes of global togetherness and national pride that goes on at an Olympics ceremony, this seemed breathtakingly politically charged...

Guardian“It didn't make a bit of sense, but what a thrilling spectacle...” Boyle gave the ceremony two things I never believed could co-exist in a sports arena: a sense of humour and a sense of wonder. To begin with, his guiding force seemed to be Terry Gilliam, or maybe Peter Jackson...

Time Out“Faintly bonkers...” The satanic mills of the Industrial Revolution was beyond awe-inspiring, everything Boyle achieved with last year’s steampunk-flavoured National Theatre hit ‘Frankenstein’ times about a gazillion...