What the critics have said about Jack's plays.

1996  Guardian.  Director Michael Wansbrough, with Malcolm Robertson, Peter Houghton, Penelope Hanby and Brenda Palmer.  Carlton Courthouse.  “… tight structure and well-edited dialogue … entertaining theatre - with a social conscience” (Steven Carroll, The Sunday Age)  “Opie is courageous and right on cue”  (Barbara Biggs, Sunday Herald Sun)  “… confidently displays a command of dialogue … a tasty nibble of Opie’s talents as a playwright”  (Jen Vuk, In Press)  “an enterprising debut”  (Michael Bodey, Beat Magazine)  “hilarious exchanges … entertaining, truly funny and at times brilliant” (Peter Ascott, Farrago)

2000  The Treadmill  Director Jack Opie, with Andrew Blackman, Jane Thornton and Hayley Anderson.  Carlton Courthouse, Athenaeum II, Blakiston Theatre, Geelong, Gay Gough Theatre, Ballarat.  “Complex and compelling … a fascinating journey.  …Throughly researched and profoundly moving …Andrew Blackman is utterly mesmerizing.  He revels in Opie’s rich poetic text …”  (David Crofts, Melbourne Times)  “This remarkable play … demonstrates his sure grasp of theatrical technique … It is a tribute to both the writing and the performance that we are utterly gripped and drawn into these stories.  … a powerful, moving and thought-provoking play … (Helen Thomson, The Age)

2002  Sir …  Director Karen Corbett.  Short play for the season of School, Carlton Courthouse.  “Tying the program together neatly is Jack Opie’s Sir ... which turns a century of schooling into a music-hall routine.”  (Chris Boyd, Herald-Sun)

2004  Terrorists in the Garden (Jesuits Don’t Lie)  Director Michael O’Malley.  Carlton Courthouse.  “absorbing and enjoyable” - “richly imagined, cleverly constructed, well-researched and empathetic” (Helen Thomson, The Age)  “Densely layered and delightfully penned” - “fascinating”  (David Crofts, The Melbourne Times)  “an interesting, well-researched work”  “Hussey is hugely amusing in all of these parts.”  (Bill Perrett, Agenda, Sunday Age)  “Opie’s message is essentially moral and spiritual, with the details of history used in very clever ways to shape the play.”  (Megan Sloley, Inpress)