From the reviews of the 2023 Ripon Theatre Festival Performance:
- A very moving piece of performance poetry that captivated the audience. Beautifully executed with fabulous imagery. Thought-provoking, soul-baring, and delivered with such poignancy and realism that it left a lasting impression.
- Crash is impressive solo story-telling, a dramatic homage to T.S. Eliot that counts down the last minutes and seconds of a man’s life. It is thoroughly enjoyable both as writing and performance.
- Crash is an intimate look into the end of a life fully lived. This poem is unsentimental but realistic in unpacking the thoughts which may seem significant in those final moments. The poet expresses insight into the reality of his life and provides the audience with much to consider.
- I found Crash to be a meticulously-crafted flow of images and ideas that was both absorbing and intriguing.
- Ian Gouge commanded the sell-out audience seated in the vault at the Ripon Festival with his performance of Crash. His highly original poem, with hints of Dylan Thomas and Milton, was more than a reading: Ian’s acting gave life to the stanzas and the spaces around them.
Ian Gouge - Writer 