The British Theatre Guide
Vera Liber
May 12, 2015
'A tender homage—this is a new McGregor—danced with eloquence by Ferri and Federico Bonelli, Gary Avis, Edward Watson as the war-damaged Septimus Smith, Tristan Dyer his brother-in-arms.'

Time Out
Siobhan Murphy
May 12, 2015
'Ferri’s elegant line and constrained emotion are pitch-perfect; she floats through duets with Gary Avis and Federico Bonelli.'

Bachtrack.com
Alexandra Desvignes
May 12, 2015
'Equally strong are Edward Watson and Gary Avis’ excellent interpretations.'

LondonDance.com
Graham Watts
May 12, 2015
'...there are are several duets of great passion and expression, involving Ferri, Gary Avis, Watson, Takada, Bonelli, McRae and Osipova.....'

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LondonDance.Com
Graham Watts
May 7, 2015
'Gary Avis brings a foppish authority to the brief but important role of the Village Notary that is so often underplayed.'

Terpsichore blog
Jane Lambert
May 6, 2015
'But my favourite character artist yesterday was Gary Avis as the notaire. Not so much because of his dancing (though he is always good) but for his portrayal of a country solicitor. He must have some connection with the law because he reminds me of so many of those who have instructed me over the years.'

Views from The Crow's Nest
May 6, 2015
'I was also delighted to see Gary Avis again, in the small but rich role of the Village Notary in the final act. He emoted every last little movement with great style and dripped with character.'

The Operatunist blog
Nick Wellings
May 5, 2015
As Thomas, Gary Avis is peerless, as Notary, the man is unrecognisable. Compared side by side they would not seem to be the same man underneath. As ever, he is a delight to watch.

The Observer
Luke Jennings
April 26, 2015
'Paul Kay is an appealingly daffy Alain, and Gary Avis a splendidly desiccated Notary.'

markronan.com
Mark Ronan
April 24, 2015
'After this sudden reversal the Village Notary puts things right by tearing up the contract and recommending a new one be drawn up, and the panache with which Gary Avis carried out this opportune legal manoeuvre turned a small vignette into a moment of exquisite drama.'

Londondance.com
Graham Watts
April 22, 2015
'Gary Avis brings a larger-than-life, swaggering pomposity to the rich vineyard owner, Thomas; and Paul Kay is suitably charming as his simpleton son, Alain, intended to be betrothed to Lise but rather more attached to his red umbrella. Throughout the cast The Royal Ballet were a credit to Ashton’s legacy...'

The Times
Debra Craine
April 20, 2015
'Gary Avis gives a robust account of wealthy Thomas, while Paul Kay is touching as his simpleton son Alain.’

Mark Monahan
TheTelegraph
April 17, 2015
'The other leads are faultless. As Alain (Lise’s simpleton of an intended), Paul Kay is as meticulously gymnastic as he is endearing; Gary Avis is boisterous fun as his father, Thomas.'

markronan.com
Mark Ronan
April 17, 2015
'In fact the entire performance was achieved without strain or excess while making the most of those gloriously funny moments. The weighty importance Gary Avis gave to the role of the prosperous vineyard owner Thomas helped emphasise the absurdity of his simpleton son Alain, so very well danced by Paul Kay as a picture of perfect folly and clumsiness.'

Bachtrack.co
Mark Pullinger
April 17, 2015
'Gary Avis blustered well as the pompous Thomas, Alain’s father.'

Simonetta Dixon
BalletCoForum
April 17, 2015
'Speaking of Avis, he too was excellent as Thomas; the arrogance of a wealthy man thinking he can get what he wants, and behave how he wants, because he has more than everyone around him is the essence of Avis's interpretation. Again, a balance is required between that side of his character, and the feeling of sorrow and protection for his son. When he chases off the farm boys, and most particularly when the little flick of Alain's hair keeps popping back up as he strokes his head, Avis's face melts from icy anger to warm love, and resignation.'

DanceTabs
Jane Simpson
April 24, 2012
'Gary Avis, as Alain’s father, got it just right.'

markronan.wordpress.com
Mark Ronan
May 13, 2012
'The wealthy landowner Thomas was brought to life by Gary Avis, portraying this charmless man to perfection, particularly after the lovers are discovered together near the end,'

The Arts Desk
James Woodall
April 22, 2010
'I was much tickled by Gary Avis in his tiny second-act role as the Village Notary making as much important fuss as possible about signing off the marriage between Lise and poor Alain, and then just as much fuss about tearing up the contract and practically forcing Lise and Colas onto each other.'

Ballet.co
Wulff
March 2010
'In the last act his bewilderment and shock at finding Lise and Colas in each other's arms is truly touching and the effect is enhanced by the way that Gary Avis playing Thomas tenderly comforts his distressed son. A friend of mine who has seen this ballet many times told me afterwards that she had for the first time been moved to tears by this scene. '

Ballet.co
John Mallinson
May 21, 2006
'The most interesting casting was of Gary Avis as the notary. His quicksilver characterisation went from proper and pompous to warm-hearted to cowardly and fearful. Maybe it takes a principal dancer to make so much out of not very much.'

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markronan.com
Mark Ronan
February 22, 2015
'These dramatic roles are of the essence, and Gary Avis is a von Rothbart of terrific charisma and stage presence. No one does it better.'

londonroomwithaview.blogspot.co.uk
Leeann Chen
February 22, 2015
'Avis' Rothbart was, as always, an utter joy to watch (although a little girl in my nearby vicinity did refer to his white Act getup as that of 'a big, dirty pigeon'.) Rather than a menace, he was a conniving opponent, most notably when skilfully manipulating the dangerous Odile to his gleeful bidding.'

Time Out
Siohban Murphy
February 19, 2015
'As Nuñez takes her instruction from wicked magician Von Rothbart (an excellent Gary Avis), she looks like a viciously efficient piece of malware being fed data to crash Siegfried’s entire life.'

operatunist.wordpress.com
Nick Wellings
February 15, 2015
'When Gary Avis’ genuinely fantastic von Rothbart weaves his evil magicks and re-mesmerises Odette, Núñez’s eyes glaze over, stare out, and we feel her returning to swanform, as if a switch has been thrown.'

Daily Express
Allan Hunter
February 13, 2015
'When Von rothbart (Gary Avis) evolves from his giant baby owl guise to Mohican-haired pimp and gatecrashes the Prince’s ball with his own dark retinue including odile, siegfried is seduced by her feral sexuality.'

Graham Watts
Londondance.com
February 12, 2015
'And it wasn’t just the bottom end of a huge Christmas tree or Tchaikovsky’smusic that reminded me of The Nutcracker for in a bizarre way Dowell’s concept of Von Rothbart occupies the same “master of ceremonies” function at the Act 3 ball as does the mysterious Drosselmeyer in the first act of that other Tchaikovsky ballet. At The Royal, both roles are superbly interpreted by that supreme character actor, Gary Avis, who reprised his portrayal of the evil spirit on this opening night. In the mixed imagery of glam rock pop star (very ’80s) and mohican-sporting hell’s angel, Avis bestrode both the lakeside and the Fabergé ballroom like a colossus, albeit one that might burst into singing ‘I’m the Leader of the Gang (I am)’ or ‘Hell Raiser’ at any minute. He leered at the six princesses, flirted with Siegfried’s mum (also confusingly entitled a “princess” in this version) and fooled around with his dwarves: if this Von Rothbart really is modelled on an ’80s glam rock pop star then clearly the warrant would already be on its way for his arrest.'

The Times
Debra Craine
February 11, 2015
'Great drama from Gary Avis as the evil von Rothbart and from Boris Gruzin conducting the Tchaikovsky score.'

The Stage
Sarah Frater
February 11, 2015
'Special mention to Alastair Marriott as the Tutor, Gary Avis as the Evil Spirit/Von Rothbart, and Laura Morera and Ricardo Cervera in the Neopolitan Dance.'

Daily Telegraph
Mark Monahan
February 11, 2015
'Gary Avis's Von Rothbart (Travis Bickle hairdo and all) was an electrifying villain.'

Danceviewtimes.com
Judith Cruickshank
October 28, 2012
'Osipova's Odile was equally well thought out. This enchanter’s daughter was clearly a Daddy’s girl and her Rothbart, Gary Avis, played this interpretation to the hilt. The pair was constantly exchanging complicit glances and smiles, evidently delighting in the way they were duping Acosta’s noble, innocent, Siegfried.'

Daily Mail
Rupert Christiansen
October 22, 2012
'Much credit should go to..... Gary Avis is splendidly melodramatic as the demonic Rothbart....'

The Express
Neil Norman
October 12, 2012
'Gary Avis gives good villainy as always and I liked his Rocky Horror Rothbart but his owl costume looks like sequined seaweed.'

MarkRonan.wordpress.com
MarkRonan
October 11, 2012
'Gary Avis was a dramatically perfect Von Rothbart.'

The Daily Telegraph
Mark Monahan
October 11, 2012
'.....but the plusses of Gary Avis's charismatic Von Rothbart and a delightful Neopilitan Dance (steps by Frederick Ashton) from Paul Kay and Yuhui Choe.'

Sorrow Pennefather Blog
October 10, 2012
'The excitement was so great that it started coming out in all sorts of places. There was a photo taking frenzy in the auditorium before curtain up, and squeals from The Gary Avis Fan Club every time Von Rothbart appeared on stage (especially with his utterly adorable minions)'

AYoungerTheatre.com
Eleanor Turney
March 2011
'Avis’s Von Rothbart is wonderfully evil, dressed in a feathered, ragged cape, moving in a crouch and exploiting his power to hurt.'

MarkRonan.wordpress.com
Mark Ronan
March 2011
'It was a treat to have Gary Avis as Von Rothbart, both in the white acts and particularly in Act III where he exuded a charmingly dark menace, well-supported by his dwarves. The interaction with his sinister daughter Odile showed skilful sorcery, and this was altogether a Swan Lake to treasure.'

The Financial Times
Clement Crisp
October 9, 2008
'the unfailingly fine Gary Avis made everything of the Chamberlain.'

The Guardian
Luke Jennings
11 June, 2004
'her on to greater bad-girl excess, meanwhile, is Von Rothbart, played with gothic extravagence by Gary Avis.'

Bristol Evening Post
Gerry Parker
March 13, 2004
'There was no shortage of evil intent in Gary Avis' Rothbart. Looking for all the world like a malevolent bird of prey he used his magnificent flowing cape to wonderful effect.'

Ballet.co
Bruce Marriott
July, 2004
'I was clipped by Garry Avis's Rothbart wings a time or two and good to see his work with ENB for the last time before he moves back to the Royal Ballet - his spiritual home in reality. He brings such intelligence to dramatic roles as well as being a fine hoofer.'

Ballet.co
Bruce Marriot
June 2002
'On both occasions Gary Avis was Rothbart - played with evil scary reverence - excellent.' [Close]

simonparrismaninchair.com
Simon Parris
January 20, 2015
'Gary Avis captures the confused but well-intentioned ramblings of Don Quixote.'

The Observer
Luke Jennings
November 30, 2014
'......... Alongside them, the four character principals deliver wonderfully complete performances.
Gary Avis is the bovine Lorenzo, Kitri's father, fatally slow on the uptake and always on the wrong foot.
All are superb comic creations; they live and breathe, every detail of posture, gait and expression contributing to their believability.'

Daily Telegraph
Mark Monahan
November 26, 2014
'On the other, given such sterling performances from Gary Avis (tremendous fun as Kitri’s put-upon father Lorenzo) and Ryoichi Hirano (at once comic and noble as the matador Espada), it seems churlish to complain too crossly.'

MarkRonan.com
Mark Ronan
November 26, 2014
'Gary Avis was wonderfully alive and robust as Lorenzo the innkeeper and father of Kitri.'

Dancing Times
Jonathan Gray
October, 2013
'Across the two performances, I enjoyed the dotty nobility of Gary Avis' Don Quixote along with Jonathan Howells' greedy Sancho Panza - they overshadowed the more stolid Don and Panza of Christopher Saunders and Philip Mosley in the Nuñez/Acosta cast.'

Sunday Telegraph
Rupert Christiansen
October, 2013
'...there were some notable cameos from Gary Avis, Laura Morera, Ryoichi Hirano and Elizabeth Harrod.'

RowBSeat87 -Blog
October 17, 2013
'All of the character roles were well done, in fact, such as Gary Avis's big bear of an irascible father, and Bennet Gartside's mincing Gamache.'

Mark Ronan
MarkRonan.com
October 9, 2013
'And of course where would Don Q be without the Don himself, portrayed here with grandly faded deportment and superbly underplayed authority by Gary Avis.'

J Hopton
BalletcoForum
October 6, 2013
'Loved Gary Avis as the Don and thought the prologue was better than usual; thought the idea of using the bedpost as a lance brilliant.'

BerylH
BalletCoForum
October 6, 2013
'The acting roles were marvellous in the evening, Gary Avis and Jonathan Howells as Don Q and Sanco Panza, and Christopher Saunders and Thomas Whitehead as Lorenzo and Gamache, all give the roles more interest than usual, and the hilarious sword fight between Don Q and Gamache is back(remember that from Nureyev's Australian version)'

Jenny Taylor
BalletCoForum
October 6, 2013
'I liked everything and especially of course, Gary Avis as DonQ, sublime as ever in the main character part.'

DanceTabs
October 3, 2013
'The big character roles showed a nice straightforward Lorenzo from Gary Avis.'

Siobhan Murphy
Metro
October 1, 2013
'Meanwhile, there are terrific supporting character performances from Gary Avis and Bennet Gartside, and a sharp and humorously turbo-machismo turn from Ryoichi Hirano as the toreador Espada.'

Judith Mackrell
The Guardian
October 1, 2013
'Around them, the rest of the cast are mixed: with fine character performances from Bennet Gartside and Gary Avis, but with some of the dancers still to find their swagger and snap.'

Mark Ronan
MarkRonan.com
October 1, 2013
'The Act I drama only really got started when Gary Avis entered as an excellent Lorenzo, innkeeper and father of Kitri. The goodwill of the audience was palpable...'

Vera Liber
British Theatre Guide
October 1, 2013
'Too many to name check, but Christopher Saunders is a charming bumbling Don, and Bennet Gartside deliciously camps up the effete rich buffoon nobleman Gamache who wants to marry Kitri. An unrecognisable Gary Avis plays her father Lorenzo, who would sell her to the highest bidder.'

Graham Watts
LondonDance.com
October 1, 2013
'Gary Avis brought some welcome comic attention to the role of Kitri’s father, the innkeeper.'

Laura Dodge
Dance Musings
October 1, 2013
'In the title role, Gary Avis was his usual captivating self, acting charmingly and finding a great sense of humour in the choreography.'

Debra Crane
The Times
October 1, 2013
'Gary Avis a likeable Lorenzo.....'

James,
Ballet.co.uk forum
September 30, 2013
'It's a wonderfully sunny production, and tremendous fun. Carlos Acosta has done the Royal Ballet proud, I think. There are some genuinely funny moments, and the ending, with Don Q (the excellent Gary Avis at the General Rehearsal) riding off into the sunset is actually quite moving.'

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The Times
Debra Crane
July 3, 2012
'..... while Gary Avis made more of Rakitin, Natalia's longstanding friend and admirer, than I have ever seen anyone else do.'

ClassicalSource.com
G.J Dowler
July 2, 2012
'Gary Avis was telling as her devoted admirer Rakitin, making much of his increasingly irritated interaction with Beliaev.'

Londondance.com
Graham Watts
July 2, 2012
'Gary Avis pitches his delivery of Rakitin (Natalia’s ardent admirer) perfectly to capture the mix of robust confidant covering the vulnerability of an unrequited love.'

MarkRonan.Wordpress.Com
Mark Ronan
July 1, 2012
'In the meantime her sudden loss of interest in Rakitin was perfectly expressed, and Gary Avis gave a finely drawn portrait of this family friend.'
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Imogen's Creative Fire Blog
October 17, 2014
'Mr Avis was excelling himself as usual (if that isn't a contradiction in terms) as an utterly repellent Monsieur GM. I wouldn't ever have expected to say this as a compliment, but he was rape culture personified. Through great chunks of the brothel scene my eyes kept straying from the merrymaking of the whores and their clients, to watch the interactions between him and Manon. This was a real relationship, subtle and full of tension, a constantly-shifting unadmitted power struggle going on. One got a very clear sense of what has happened to Manon in the last few weeks, and a real premonition of what might have happened in the succeeding months, if she hadn't taken another spur-of-the-moment gamble and tried to have it all.'


The Lady
Gillian Spickernell
October 10, 2014
'Particularly good is the vile Gaoler in Louisiana, superbly played by Gary Avis, who leaves the audience outraged at his treatment of Manon after she arrives, hair shorn and dressed in rags, labelled no better than a common prostitute.'

The Telegraph
Sarah Crompton
October 8, 2014
'The Royal's fine dramatic instincts run through the whole cast from Gary Avis's brutal jailer.......'

balletcoforum.com
JennyTaylor
October 8, 2014
'Gary Avis was exemplarily horrible as the Gaoler, but I'd like to see him in more Monsieur GM performances.'

'In that performance...... Avis an erotically transfixed Monsieur GM.'

balletcoforum.com
nottsballetlover
October 5, 2014
'Then there was Gary Avis as Mr GM: so brilliantly acted my flesh crawled at his lechery!!'

balletcoforum.com
WoodlandGladeFairy
October 5, 2014
'....... and Gary Avis makes for a wonderfully sleazy Monsieur GM.'

The Financial Times
Louise Levene
October 1, 2014
'Her Manon has fine moments – the rape scene with Gary Avis was repulsively good – but this ballet is only as strong as its central partnership and Nuñez has yet to find her Des Grieux.'

Londondance
Graham Watts
September 29, 2014
'.......Gary Avis provided an effectively hideous cameo as the predatory and abusive gaoler.'

DanceTabs.com
Jann Parry
September 29, 2014
'Nuñez and Bonelli spark off each other more feistily in their second bedroom scene than they did in their first, and are genuinely moving in the last act in Louisiana. Nuñez appears almost past caring, while he remains loyally protective. Their mutual horror at Gary Avis’s repulsive gaoler is convincing. He is an utterly vile serial abuser. The only reason the gaoler offers to reward Manon with yet another bracelet is that in the original version of the ballet, 40 years ago, the character was the governor of the penal colony, intending to bribe Manon into becoming his next live-in mistress. Avis contemptuously clasps the bracelet on Nuñez’s wrist as a fetter: he’s done this many times before.'

Bachtrack.com
Margaret Willis
September 27, 2014
However, later as a convict in New Orleans her whole body shook with revulsion when the lascivious Gaoler (well played by Gary Avis) demanded carnal gratification. (MacMillan can be very graphic in his choreography.)

markronan.com Theatre Reviews
Mark Ronan
September 27, 2014
'Manon destroys three principal men in this ballet: the finely portrayed Lescaut of Ricardo Cervera, the assertively handsome Gaoler of Gary Avis, and Des Grieux himself.
........ the scene between the gaoler and Manon, so well realised here by Avis and Nuñez.'

The Spectator
Giannandrea Poesio
November 19, 2011
'...........Yet the unorthodox approach works marvellously in the central brothel scene, where Cuthbertson’s Manon comes across as a disillusioned courtesan, mechanically performing sexual tricks over and over again for the benefit, one assumes, of her lecherous, foot-fetishist protector, Monsieur GM — whom Gary Avis characterised with a truly enjoyable mix of nobility and perverse lasciviousness.'

Ballet.co
Jenny Taylor
November 18,2011
'I've seen 3 Manon casts now so Lamb/Pennefather, Nunez/Kish and Cuthbertson/Polunin and for me Sarah and Rupert were the absolute pick in terms of both dancing and drama. No one can beat Gary Avis in whatever part he plays and Thiago Soares was a scintillating Lescaut.'

The Financial Times
Clement Crisp
November 13, 2011
'My cheers for the ensemble are as loud as anyone’s, as also my admiration for the principals: for José Martin’s vivid Lescaut, for Gary Avis’s tumescent Monsieur GM'

The Independent
Zoe Anderson
November 11, 2011
'Gary Avis is a marvellous G M, controlling and cruel, but still a believable person. In the brothel scene, he shows a schoolboy excitement when he decides to throw money into the crowd, making the whores scramble. When Manon plays cards at another table, he's crossly distracted: surely she must be finished by now? What's keeping her?'

The Arts Desk
Judith Flanders
November 9, 2011
'Avis played Monsieur GM as Des Grieux's dark side, his mirror, showing what happens when the infinite possibilities of wealth and position combine with the same sexual passion that devours Des Grieux. The choreographer, Kenneth MacMillan, had drawn only the sketchiest outline of Monsieur GM’s character, and the part is usually played as stereotype, but Avis, always a fine actor, gave it chilling depths, showing Des Grieux, and us, what the seminarian might become as they circled each other.'

Classical Source
Gerald Dowler
November, 2011
'Certain pools of delicious darkness remain, not least Gary Avis’s sneering sexual predator of a Monsieur G.M. for whom money and sex are power, the gewgaws he offers Manon clear payment for his perversities – I delighted in the near orgasmic joy of his murder of Lescaut, Manon’s brother at the end of Act Two.'

British Theatre Guide
Vera Liber
November 10, 2011
'Gary Avis (Manon’s gaoler in 2008), a fine actor, as Monsieur G M, a tall and commanding presence, also raises the game.'

The Telegraph
Sarah Crompton
November 10, 2011
'With wonderful support from Gary Avis as a particularly vulpine Monsieur GM and Jos Martin in ferociously sharp form as the conniving Lescaut, this is an evening to relish.'

Londondance.com
Graham Watts
November 9, 2011
'Gary Avis gave an authoritative, lecherous but less sinister account of the rich Monsieur G.M. – his emphatic acting ability always creating and projecting insightful nuances of this crucial role.'

The Evening Standard
Clifford Bishop
November 9, 2011
'Even the fabulously slavering Gary Avis trying to stuff her into his mouth as if she were a piece of cake fails to dent her poise.'

The Guardian
Judith Macrell
November 9, 2011
'Set against Jose Martin's bracingly ruthless Lescaut, and the careless, arrogant cruelty of Gary Avis's GM, we can see why Manon might see her beloved poet as a temporary luxury.'

Ballet.co
Jenny Taylor
June 1, 2011
'From the moment you know you have Thiago Soares and Gary Avis as Lescaut and Monsieur GM, the enjoyment of the evening is assured and so it proved. Sheer joy, impudence, humour, inventiveness - fantastic acting all round. Oh to capture all those nuances of interpretation.'

The Telegraph
Mark Monahan
26 April, 2011
'Gary Avis is a truly nasty gaoler'

The Independent
Zoë Anderson
25 April, 2011
'Gary Avis is a swaggering Gaoler,'

Classical Source
G. J. Dowler
April 22, 2011
'Gary Avis was a brutish and sadistic Gaoler in New Orleans, a callous user of women, a rapist, who forces himself on the exhausted Manon; '

The Arts Desk
Ismene Brown
April 22, 2011
'This gives a new poignant pause before Des Grieux crosses the point of no return by murdering the lusty gaoler (Gary Avis, always good value in the fellatio scene).'

markronan.wordpress.com
Mark Ronan
April 22, 2011
'and Gary Avis was riveting as the gaoler, from the moment he entered front stage left in Act III.'

Ballet.co
Michael LL
November 2008
'With Gary Avis playing Monsieur GM as a lascivious preening monster, you would not be surprised that the Manon-Lescaut-GM pas de trois, and the final scene of Act II were especially thrilling in thier dramatic intensity.

Ballet.co
Mijosh
November 9, 2008
'The only problem with Gary Avis's incomparable Monsieur GM is,as others have noted,that it precludes him from playing the gaoler as well.'

Ballet.co
Diandri
October 20, 2008
'I must also mention in act 2 Gary Avis as one of the clients & Iohna Loots as the Tom Boy Courtesan. Absolutely spot on, brilliantly funny & they looked like they were having the time of their life as he chased her pert little bum around the stage!'

Ballet.co
Natasha Rogai
July 2008
'It was a privilege to see artists of the quality of Elizabeth McGorian and Genesia Rosato as the Madame, Christopher Saunders and Gary Avis as Monsieur GM, Thomas Whitehead and Avis as the Gaoler. Performances like these add immeasurably to the rich texture which makes Manon such a supremely satisfying work.'

The Sunday Times
David Dougill
November 13, 2005
'Gary Avis’s Gaoler is coldly sadistic,'

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