"O’Regan attacks the various roles like he’s engaged in a full-body, full-spirit workout...This actorly excellence (and he really is excellent) is a kind of smoke screen — a gas attack, if you’re feeling nasty — for the cruelty, the unsparing feel-badness of the play. The original novel is a heart-tugger, absolutely, but Reade’s adaptation, which fiddles with an essential story point, leaves it pretty well devoid of hope...It’s clear what Reade’s adaptation is fighting against, but what is it fighting for?"
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"The story may sound familiar, but you’ve likely never seen O’Regan, who makes a spectacular U.S. debut. It’s exhilarating to watch him inhabit the tale’s two dozen characters, switching accents and attitudes like Sybil on steroids. Even more impressive than his versatility is his ability to tap into your imagination as well as your emotions...He’s playing a private, but it’s a four-star performance."
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"Morpurgo interviewed veterans of the First World War...His resulting young-adult novel, about a teenage soldier subjected to humiliation and violence at the hands of his bullying commanders, has echoes of ‘Catch-22’, without the comedy. In Reade’s excellent, dreamlike adaptation for the stage, the story unfolds as a dramatic monologue by the title character, played by the talented O’Regan, who, in the course of eighty-five minutes, also inhabits twenty-three other roles.”
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"The scope of O'Regan's performance is impressive...His work is masterfully skilled and technically precise, but it's also vibrantly alive. He creates unique portrayals and tics for every person featured...Reade's production is swift, and he really knows how to raise the suspense...Simplicity is the name of the game...Sometimes all you need is one exceptional actor and a resourceful script to bring the fireworks to the stage.”
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"Tommo and Charlie are only two of millions of anonymous soldiers, but what happens to them approaches the level of tragedy. That this is so can be attributed to Simon Reade's sensitive adaptation of Morpurgo's text...I'd happier if I could have reported that Reade's direction wasn't quite so busy, finding a fussy bit of stage business for each moment and character...Still, O'Regan, who is possessed of untold funds of energy, conjures up...a universe of characters."
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"A taut, tension-filled 85-minute one-man telling...I haven’t seen the 2012 film—which marked the late Richard Griffiths’ final performance—but I’ll wager that this solo show, performed with great heart and ferocity by Shane O’Regan, is far more compelling...All of the detail—and there’s a surprising amount packed into such a lean production—comes from Morpurgo’s story, Reade’s script, and O’Regan’s finely shaded characterizations."
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"O’Regan’s exceptional performance and Reade’s highly theatrical staging invigorates ‘Private Peaceful’, a familiar and formulaic World War I solo play...This dutiful treatment of the subject matter would perhaps be best appreciated by adolescent audiences. Anyone else could find it to be a by the numbers narrative with presentational flourishes...’Private Peaceful’ does have its virtues but is a relatively flat experience.”
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"There are few more daunting theatrical challenges than making the familiar seem fresh, which is why one must salute solo performer Shane O'Regan's ability to keep the audience so attentive throughout most of the 80 minutes...Even if you've never read the novel or seen its film adaptation, this tale contains very little we haven't heard before. Yet O'Regan's incredibly committed and strikingly energetic performance almost makes you feel he's covering completely new ground."
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