David K. Barnes Reviews

WOODEN OVERCOATS

British Podcast Awards '22 - Best Fiction Nominee
British Podcast Awards '17 - Best Fiction, Silver

"The release of this funny, clever, independently produced sitcom podcast marks a quietly significant moment in British radio comedy... It's not that podcast sitcoms haven't been made before; it's that this one is, for the first time, as good as anything you'd hear on Radio 4."
The Daily Telegraph

"Thanks to carefully drawn and uniquely bizarre characters, impeccable sound design, and writing that's at once sharp and wholesome, Wooden Overcoats has earned its status as a podcast classic."
The New York Times

"It's all done in the style of snap-pace comedy. There are shades of Fawlty Towers, Black Adder, The Office... all while being completely original."
The Huffington Post

"The setting is charming, the dialogue very fast and funny, and the characters are incredibly well defined."
NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour

"A sitcom as good, if not better, than any Radio 4 comedy offering. It's fab."
The Observer

"For every friend who asks why I like audio-based material, I recommend Wooden Overcoats, a podcast for people who think podcasts are for other people."
Hindustan Times

Silver Award: Best Fiction, 2017

Nominated: Best Digital Audio Production, Prix Europa 2016

A best of 2015 UK Podcast

"The eight episodes of Wooden Overcoats are inspired comedy."
The Times, Critic's Radio Choice (on Season 1)

"A hoot to listen to, perfectly produced."
The Guardian

"This is a refreshing, bright and oddly absorbing experience."
The Irish Times: Podcast of the Week

"An audio sitcom which raises the bar for podcasting as a whole."
Laugh Out London

"This podcast is hilarious and charming - download immediately."
Reader's Digest

"Like The Archers meets Six Feet Under."
BBC Radio 4 Front Row

"Funnier than anything broadcast on the BBC."
The New Statesman

"Very funny, very British."
WIRED

Audio Verse Awards '17

Audio Verse Awards '16

Audio Verse Awards '18

BIG FINISH PRODUCTIONS

Audie Awards 2021 - Winner: Best Audio Drama, Doctor Who: Stranded Volume 1

"David K. Barnes brilliantly captures the spirit of this era while giving us plenty of fantastic drama."
Fansided (Doctor Who: Daughter of the Gods, 2019)

"I'm giving Daughter of the Gods a perfect 10. This story is everything it needs to be."
   SciFi Pulse (Doctor Who: Daughter of the Gods, 2019)

"Breach of Trust surpasses all expectations. "
Blogtor Who (UNIT: Revisitations - Breach of Trust, 2018)

"Breach of Trust might well become one of your favourite Big Finish stories of all time."
Mass Movement (UNIT: Revisitations - Breach of Trust, 2018)

"One of the most white-knuckle Big Finish stories ever. Searingly angry, no easy answers."
   Mac Rogers (UNIT: Revisitations - Breach of Trust, 2018)

"I think it's the very best story in the history of this series."
Unreality SF (UNIT: Revisitations - Breach of Trust, 2018)

"A triumph on many levels... this is a masterclass. 5/5"
   CultBox (Doctor Who: The Dalek Occupation of Winter, 2018)

"A stunning debut on the range, and one of the best Dalek stories for some time. 10/10"
Sci-Fi Bulletin (Doctor Who: The Dalek Occupation of Winter, 2018)

THE DISCOVERY ADVENTURES
Family adventure serial podcast by Cecilia FM and Land Rover, 2017
(Writer - episodes 6 & 7)

Most Original Podcast - British Podcast Awards 2018

Best Branded Content Podcast - British Podcast Awards 2018

BIRTHDAY SUIT
Old Red Lion Theatre, London 2017 - Pluck. Productions

For EJ Martin

For David K. Barnes

For Liam Bewley

"Like Ayckbourn for millennials."
- Lyn Gardner, The Guardian

"Recalls Neil LaBute at his best."
- Kate Maltby, The Times

"What a delight it is to see a play, an unabashed comedy to boot, set in London in 2017... David K. Barnes is a name to watch."
★★★★ Broadway World

"A cunning concoction of tensions - conformity, sex, success and selling out - magnificently acted by a cast who revel in David K. Barnes's sparkling script."
★★★★ The Islington Gazette

"A pinnacle of hilarity is reached before it becomes hard-hitting surprisingly quickly."
★★★★ LondonTheatre1.com

"In turn laugh out loud funny and tragic."
★★★★ West End Wilma

"Birthday Suit is a mercilessly tense piece of writing that clashes Noel Coward with Edward Albee to quite profound effect."
★★★★ The Stage

Blue Box at M Space, Msida, Malta 2017 - Masquerade Theatre
"Had the audience shaking with laughter... This is a comedy that is effortlessly funny and deserves to be seen and enjoyed."
- Times of Malta

THE AWKWARD GHOST
VAULT Festival 2016 - Crowley & Co.

"A wonderfully humorous play... Barnes's portrayal of sisterly disrespect and one-upmanship undimmed by death is spot on, searingly vicious in its comedy."
British Theatre Guide

"As touching as it is funny."
The New Current

"There's a particularly nicely handled moment of physical comedy when Robin suddenly realises his flat is populated by, not one, but three unquiet ghosts... A rather melancholy and sweet piece about loneliness and grasping life's possibilities while there's still time."
The Stage

GAMES OF LOVE AND CHANCE
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2014 - Zut Alors Theatre & TwoSquared Productions

"It is the subversive, revisionist approach of the play which really makes it shine, proving that period pieces can be shot through with an entirely 21st century mindset... Games of Love and Chance mixes wordplay with slapstick, wit with silliness, all to admirable effect, but most of all, it’s jolly good fun."
    ★★★★ Broadway Baby

"A new play by David K. Barnes that feels like a well-known and well-loved piece of classic theatre... Games of Love and Chance does have a universal appeal. Teenagers and older people alike kept up with the occasionally tricky plot, and were giggling consistently throughout... A polished, complete piece of comedy-drama, practically guaranteed to entertain."
    ★★★★ EdFringe Review

"It is exceptional that this adaptation of the play is Zut Alors Theatre’s premiere production... This incredibly funny and silly adaptation is a positive crowd pleaser."
    ★★★★ The Public Reviews

Shortlisted for the NSDF Edinburgh Festival '14 Award
NSDF Edinburgh Festival Award - Special Commendation for Original Music (Gabriel Chernick)
NSDF Edinburgh Festival Award - Special Commendation for Original Writing (David K. Barnes)

TIMOTHY

"Amazingly written and wonderfully delivered... A delight to watch."
The Hindu Metroplus, Hindu Theatre Festival '15, Evam Entertainment Ltd.

"45 minutes of comic brilliance."
Bath Chronicle, Bath Fringe Festival '15, OnSet Productions

"The concept is excellent and the script brilliantly written, filled with one-liners and a consistent level of wit... Twists and turns, suspense, horror and laughter fill this highly enjoyable black comedy."
★★★★ EdFringe Review, Edinburgh Festival '11, Blackwatch Road Productions

"Blissfully funny new play [with] energetic and tightly controlled writing... The dialogue is littered with some crackingly funny lines in a storyline that, while obviously darkly comic, is also surprisingly sweet."
★★★★ What's on Stage, Edinburgh Festival '11, Blackwatch Road Productions

WILD ALLEGATIONS
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2012 - Reading University Drama Society

"From laugh out loud hilarious to wincingly believable."
★★★★★ ThreeWeeks

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2010 - Edinburgh University Theatre Company

★★★★ - Broadway Baby
★★★★ - FreshAir
★★★★ - Fringe Biscuit

"The slow burn of comedy combines with the dark whiff of hypocrisy in this excellent new play... Has something different from the norm to say about celebrity and celebrity culture."
Edinburgh Evening News

"The amount of dramatic irony in this play is quite astonishing... The strength of the performance owes itself to the hilarious script. The comic throwaway lines always succeeded in generating fits of laughter."
The Stage

"The writing is of a very high quality, ensuring that the laughs are not at the expense of characterisation. Indeed, the three central characters are far more emotionally complex than we have any right to expect in a show of this length... Original, funny, fast-paced, well performed, almost perfect fringe theatre."
View from the Stalls

THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2012 - TwoSquared Productions

"A near perfect adaptation... It will leave even the most cynical audience members feeling disconcertingly positive and cheerful."
★★★★★ ThreeWeeks

"Hilarious and energetic, this is a superb adaptation with a phenomenal quality of humour... It is clear that everyone on stage loves every second of their time in the show. There are too many stand-out moments to pick a favourite."
★★★★ Broadway Baby