Vanessa Poole
Actress & Voiceover Artist
Reviews
Reviews
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ CPH POST
⭐⭐⭐⭐CPHCULTURE
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pov. International
⭐⭐⭐⭐ The International Denmark Magazine
Sarah Ruhl’s ‘The Clean House’ – a play superbly directed by Jeremy Thomas-Poulsen... A touching play resonates with us all...
Ensembles don’t come along like this very often, but if we had to single out one performer, it would be Vanessa Poole in the role of Lane’s sister, Virginia. From her very first utterance, she steals the show with exquisite timing in what is her funniest ever performance on a Copenhagen stage. Her sibling rivalry with Pulkrabek’s Lane – as the sterile environments of their everyday lives come crashing together with the inevitability of an iceberg hitting the Titanic – is understated and all the more touching.
The play also resonates because it is highly relatable to internationals... To say it is the funniest play I have ever seen in Copenhagen is no exaggeration. "
The Clean House’ by Sarah Ruhl Oct 2019
⭐⭐⭐⭐ KULTURTID
"Vanessa Poole er med sin hæse stemme mester for at give sin tragikomiske karakter som den rengøringsivrige husmor liv. Hun er fantastisk i en fin lyserød flæsekjole og højhælede sko, når hun med grådighed kaster sig over strygetøjet samtidig med, at hendes karakter bliver inspireret af Mathildas mere bohemeagtige tilgang til livet."
‘The Clean House’ by Sarah Ruhl Oct 2019
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ CPH POST
⭐⭐⭐⭐KULTURTID
⭐⭐⭐⭐CPHCULTURE
"De tos samspil er fint, og man mærker den fortrolighed og jargon, der kan være mellem ægtefæller, der har været sammen i en årrække"
"Brilliantly performed, Edward Albee’s darkly comical The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? is not for the faint of heart. With a lurking elephant — or, really, a goat — in the room, the audience is thrown headfirst into the most emotionally intimate moments of a great marriage gurgling down the garbage disposal.
"The play is carried by Poole’s strongly nuanced portrayal of one half of a happy, devoted partnership sliding quickly into insanity. Even at the height of Stevie’s argument, Poole infuses her character with a sense of deep love and respect for her husband Martin. Poole plays her character not just as the distraught lover spurned, but as the doting, loving wife who still loves her longtime partner, but is driven mad by his bestiality.... Poole and Benn balance this tension of love and hate so delicately as to make the whole performance nuanced and believable...
While The Goat does largely rely on shock value to kick off the drama, the strength of the play rests on the strong performances...Poole and Benn both shone."
★★★★★
"The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?" by Edward Albee
Emile Young, Cph Post (May 2019 )
"This is principally the story of Vanya, Sonia [Vanessa Poole, a delight as always, as Sonia,] and Masha, and all three are brilliantly cast….As Sonia, Poole gives yet another memorably quirky performance, employing a medley of richly comic accents (Sonia’s “native” Pennsylvanian,a touch of Brooklyn when she smashes a coffee cup or two, and Maggie Smith’s Oscar winning-turns in ‘California Suite’ and ‘The Pride of Miss Jean Brodie’) to leave us giddy with laughter. She’s almost unrecognisable such is her immersion, and the completion of her arc is the play’s most touching moment."
★★★★★
"Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" by Christopher Durang.
Ben Hamilton. Copenhagen Post (February 2018)
“It’s a rare occasion that a series of monologues…can evoke such a vivid series of images and a rich sense of period and personality…What’s striking is this cast’s obvious affinity with the material. Each of the three members give soulful, hilarious, full-blooded performances, perfectly embodying their roles, so as to disappear into them to delicious effect...each role is performed with an immaculate ear for the text by all three players, lending a hyper-real emotionality that, like the heightened social realism of Mike Leigh’s best work, veers toward caricature but never mockery, nor does it fail to hit its mark.”
★★★★★
Alan Bennett's "Talking Heads"/ Vanessa Poole plays Lesley.
May 9th, 2017 |The Copenhagen Post/ by Mark Walker
http://cphpost.dk/activities/theatre-review-turning-heads-and-the-talk-of-the-town.html
Vanessa Poole places third as the: Top Five English-Language Trailblazers 2015 in Copenhagen theatre:
“There was nothing in the program to suggest {stalwart} Vanessa Poole would steal the show in the spring production of Pygmalion. Down for three parts, she brought a strong, feminist, singular voice to her roles. A highly accomplished performer, she is equally adept at humour and pathos.” (December 26th, 2015)
http://cphpost.dk/activities/top-five-english-language-trailblazers-2015.html
- Copenhagen Post, 2015
George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalian.
"Through her three different roles, she (Vanessa Poole) is the true link with the audience, knowingly staring them out (with humorous effect) as the patriarchs of the piece go about their frivolous lives as if the Victorian Age had never ended.
Poole, quite brilliant in all three parts, is arguably the main character of the play, underpinning how men like Higgins and to a lesser extent Colonel Pickering, abuse women and continue to do so today."
★★★★★★
- Copenhagen Post 2015
"Anarchic but beautifully timed, (The Fast Show) ...ten-member cast made full use of every entry, exit, level, vantage point and potential interaction. It was slick and, fitting of its name, quickfire... Experienced thespian Vanessa Poole was also in her element, and the pair combined to tremendous effect in the "What did I say, Roy?" sketch, the standout of the night. They subtly toned down the final line in the first three sketches to render more of an impact with the final one, which duly brought the house down."
★★★★★
- Copenhagen Post, 2014
Press:
April 2019
Swedish radio interview with Vanessa Poole about Playmate and "The Goat or Who is Sylvia?"
https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=7191880
September 2018
Coverage of the show "Quality Street" English theatre in Skåne.
https://www.thelocal.se/20180921/british-comedies-compete-on-the-malmo-stage
Front page coverage and article about Quality Street, September 2018, Malmö Hallå tidning, a supplement to Sydsvenskan
A great article about "Quality Street" and the role Playmate Theatre Malmö has in the region, in this trendy lifestyle Scandi blog/website.
http://www.thenordique.com/blog/2018/9/8/quality-street-a-night-at-the-theatre
December 2017
Article about Vanessa Poole and English-language theatre
"...OPINION: It isn't always easy putting on English-language theatre in southern Sweden, but presenting plays in their original language has huge value – not least for integration – writes Playmate Theatre member Vanessa Poole.
Living as we have done for years with our Swedish partners of choice, we are all happy enough to be settled in Skåne, but oddly for such an expansive and cosmopolitan region, there is one thing missing: there has never been an established English-language theatre in southern Sweden...."
Why Sweden needs theatre in English – Sweden’s only English-language newspaper features Playmate
https://www.thelocal.se/20180103/opinion-why-english-theatre-can-boost-integration-in-sweden
Podcast in-depth interview with Vanessa Poole, actor. September 2017:
https://poddtoppen.se/podcast/1266401555/inglorious-artists/vanessa-poole-actor
Sep 2017
Feature: A lovely welcome for Playmate by southern Sweden's leading newspaper
Sep 2017
A feature on Vanessa Poole and theatre
Local news for Vellinge : A season of English theatre by Playmate Malmö
May 2017
Newspaper article: Playmate Theatre starts a season of English theatre in Malmö at Bastionen/ Skånska Dagbladet.
http://www.skd.se/2017/05/05/brittiska-monologer-far-ny-form-pa-bastionen/
CphPost supplement, front cover, 2016
Sydsvenskan 2017 (Photo @Lars Brundin)
Vellinge lokaltidning 2017 (Press photo @ Lokaltidning)
Hallå Malmö, Sydsvenskan supplement 2018 (press photo by Sydsvenskan)