Oscar Toeman

THE MISFORTUNE OF THE ENGLISH - Orange Tree Theatre

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (Dominka Fleszar, Time & Leisure) "A piece of great theatre....alive, relevant, moving, and very well crafted with many an interesting concept explored throughout. And it doesn’t fail to make one ponder: are we also following a Keast of our time?"

★ ★ ★ ★ (Laura De Lisle, The Arts Desk) "Heaven, Burton, and Tennyson’s energy is infectious....though there’s only three of them, Oscar Toeman’s direction makes us feel the presence of the other 24, along with hero-worshipped Keaty. Like any good school trip, it’s rife with food: the boys munch Babybels and satsumas, and Lyons is very particular about his cake arrangements...it's about a third of the way through that things begin to go wrong. The house lights dim as a storm rolls in, Dan Balfour’s jaunty soundtrack warping and twisting, the boys falling out of step with each other. It’s as if the approaching tragedy is too devastating for the play’s form to contain."

★ ★ ★ (Miriam Gillinson, Guardian)  "Director Oscar Toeman keeps the tone so light in the opening scenes that, much like the boys and their schoolmaster, you won’t realise this is a tragedy until much too late…something about the connection between boyhood and Englishness, and the mutual comfort and danger these concepts provide, that really stings."

Listed in the Guardian Readers' Favourite Stage Shows of 2022 (Chris, Richmond, Guardian) "As a European living in the UK, it was a play that really spoke to me. The production was extraordinary; the whole set design was fog, that transformed a theatre space into mountains. The acting was moving, and I felt sorry for the English, but now understand them better. I’d love to see it return."

THE SUGAR SYNDROME - Orange Tree Theatre

★ ★ ★ ★ (Aleks Sierz, Arts Desk) "Director Oscar Toeman and designer Rebecca Brower bring the pre-broadband age alive... In a production which respects the difficult pauses of the text, as well as its moments of full-on comedy...this is a really excellent revival."

★ ★ ★ ★ (David Jays, Sunday Times, Critics Picks) "Oscar Toeman, who directs, has a real gift for gauging the space between actors: the air feels charged as they edge close or shuffle at an awkward distance. In this play about honesty and the performance of honesty, he gets rich portrayals of people with shame on their minds."

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (Alice Flynn, A Younger Theatre) “I love it… The level of control and tension in both Toeman’s direction and Chi-San Howard’s movement is never dropped… Rebecca Brower’s design of the production also compliments the bleakness of Dani’s world beautifully.”

★ ★ ★ ★ (Aliya Al-Hassan, Broadway World) “A striking and difficult exploration of loneliness, self-doubt and the darkness of humanity.”

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (Stephen Bates, Reviews Hub) “Jessica Rhodes is utterly convincing… Prebble’s writing is stark and provocative, but the dark humour which was to characterise her later works, such as Enron and A Very Expensive Poison, is evident throughout. Director Oscar Toeman balances the play’s tenderness and cynicism assuredly, maintaining tension.”

ACTUALLY - Trafalgar Studios

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (Hilary Webb, A Younger Theatre) “Oscar Toeman has done brilliant job of injecting energy and movement into the minimalistic production…  Actually is one of those rare plays that tackles big, complicated, human issues in a way that is bound to strike a connection with anyone.”

★ ★ ★ ★ (Gabriel Wilding, Everything Theatre) “Toeman’s attention to detail creates some lovely symbolic moments.” 

★ ★ ★ ★ (David Guest, Reviews Hub) "Director Oscar Toeman shows deep comprehension of the writer’s intentions when it would be all too easy to focus on a single issue."

★ ★ ★ ★ (Loretta Monaco, London Theatre1) "One of the beautiful aspects of Actually is that it is so visually spare. There is no set to speak of, the actors stand throughout, they do not look at one other, rather it is the audience they address and the audience who must decide whether a rape took place. It is an extremely rigorous feat of acting…… Actually, is an extraordinary piece of theatre."

AFTER OCTOBER - Finborough

★ ★ ★ ★ (Fiona Mountford, Evening Standard) "A hugely appealing revival...an ebullient production of infectious energy ...Smart, another winning revival from this pub theatre powerhouse."

★ ★ ★ ★ (Emma Henderson, The Independent) "Toeman’s production is engaging and fast-paced...drawing you into the manic family’s lives."

★ ★ ★ ★ (Matt Breen, Time Out) "Oscar Toeman ably directs his third production at the Finborough. Warm and affectionate, this does great justice to an under-sung figure of British theatre."

★ ★ ★ ★ (Ben Lawrence, Sunday Telegraph) "There is a comic exuberance and a conviction that make this an enjoyable and often profoundly moving evening"