Royal Academy of Music

A golden double bill… Oliver Platt directed with intelligent economy and Alyson Cummins’ unfussy design was beautifully lit by Jake Wiltshire…a joyful romp from start to finish, with some really imaginative puppetry…this was ensemble work at its best, the chorus rushing around the stage as bats, frogs and dragonflies in beautifully choreographed mayhem. 
Stephen Pritchard Bachtrack

…magnificent, enchanting staging of L’Enfant et les sortilèges, with designs that faultlessly enter the world of childhood. The puppetry is disarmingly low-tech and delightfully imaginative, scenes are…witty and touching, and in the garden livestock come to life to teach l’enfant a lesson or two in brilliantly staged directness. Best of all, the direction restores the child to safety and normality, we hope a bit wiser, in a superb bit of staging that exactly matches the music and the magical lighting. 
Peter Reed Classical Source

Iolanta: Director Oliver Platt and designer Alyson Cummins suggest the young girl’s latent passion with minimal but effective means. A glasshouse bursting with verdant life intimates heated emotions and senses – colours, scents, tactility…

L’Enfant et les sortilèges: …the illusions and disillusionments of childhood were depicted with unflinching honesty, in a beguiling production…singing, design and choreography came together with a directness and simplicity – and ‘dark undertone’ – which was compelling. Not so much whimsey as witchery.

Hand Puppets and dragonfly wands conducted a surreal bombardment as the tormented animal kingdom bit back, the crudeness of the design perfectly capturing the unsophistication of the child’s world. 

Claire Seymour Opera Today

Oliver Platt, one of our most accomplished young directors…once again offers us stagings both intelligent and involving.

Mark Berry Seen and Heard International