I’ve taken the following press quotes from published reviews of individual shows. They’re ordered chronologically starting with the most recent production.
“…director Richard Wolfe helms a clear-eyed production and Deb Williams, who plays Paige, delivers one of the performances of the season. Paige’s fury is palpable and her wit ever-present.” —Colin Thomas (Hir)
“Director Wolfe keeps it all just this side of absurdism, letting Hir be uproariously funny and eventually not funny at all. In the world of Hir, the American Dream is long gone and the middle class is going down the toilet. This was a family. The USA was a nation. All that’s left are body parts.” —Jo Ledingham (Hir)
“Sensitively directed by Richard Wolfe, produced by Pi Theatre and part of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, this profound and profoundly moving show is not to be missed. The Events just might be the event of the 2018 season.” —Jo Leddingham (The Events)
“I couldn’t take my eyes off The Events.” —Colin Thomas (The Events)
“Under the direction of Richard Wolfe, Greig’s characters come to life via riveting performances from Luisa Jojic and Douglas Ennenberg.” —Mark Robins Vancouver Presents (The Events)
“Under Richard Wolfe’s direction, the play is a buffet of sensory textures.” —Kathleen Oliver The Georgia Straight (1 Hour Photo)
“There’s a lot packed into seventy-five minutes: the internment, the DEW line, the Indian Act and more. In the end, 1 Hour Photo, directed by Richard Wolfe with set design by Pam Johnson, is about love, how it sustains us and gives meaning to our lives.” —Jo Leddingham (1 Hour Photo)
“Fantastic set design by Lauchlin Johnston, excellent projection design by Jamie Nesbitt, and standout performances by Jennifer Lines, Kerry Sandomirsky, and Nicco Lorenzo Garcia.” —Andrea Warner, The Georgia Straight (Long Division)
“All the elements – the acting, staging, lighting and music – come together to make Pi Theatre’s latest offering, The Invisible Hand, an adrenalin-charged thriller that will glue you to the edge of your velvet-plush chair in The Cultch’s Historic Theatre.” —Lincoln Kaye, The Vancouver Observer (The Invisible Hand)
“I’m telling all of the people I love most to see this show. Tetsuro Shigematsu’s Empire of the Son is exquisite. It’s also painstakingly honest. In his script, which Shigematsu performs solo, he explores his relationship with his father, Akira. … Physically, the show, which was directed by Richard Wolfe and produced by Donna Yamamoto, is stellar. … I can’t say enough good things about Empire of the Son. It’s bound to be one of the best shows of the year. You should see it.” —Colin Thomas – The Georgia Straight (Empire of the Son)
“For its 30th anniversary, Pi Theatre has masterfully resurrected a contemporary classic. Blasted, by English playwright Sarah Kane, is the kind of play that forces all the air out of your body and then screams at you to breathe.” — Erika Thorkelson, Vancouver Sun (Blasted)
“Pi Theatre accomplishes something incredible, crafting one of the rawest, most compellingly emotional pieces of theatre to grace any Vancouver stage this year.” —Andrea Warner, Westender (House/Home @Hive3)
“after the quake is a stunning piece of theatre. It is rare to experience a show where all the elements integrate so well and are so delicious to watch. It’s a delicate feast for the senses. Subtle, tender, and beautiful. I loved it.” —Rachel Scott, Plank Magazine (after the quake)
“Wolfe had tons of fun bringing this thing to life, solving what could be big problems in clever ways. A roiling writer’s cauldron of wit, righteous indignation and audacious inspiration.”
—Cam Fuller, The Star-Phoenix (Bite the Hand)
“Given a great translation by Morwyn Brebner of Evelyne de la Cheneliere’s haunting Quebecois play, actor David Marr and director Richard Wolfe have found a fine way to convey the subtleties of a delicate tale.” —Peter Birnie, Vancouver Sun (Bashir Lazhar)
“What does dazzle here is the work of the five performers under the slick, high-tempo direction of Richard Wolfe. It’s one of the funniest plays Vancouver has seen in years.”
—Jerry Wasserman, The Province (Stupidity)
“Thom Pain is brainy, stream of consciousness material that’s almost impossible to pull off and it’s the kind of risky theatre that Theatre Conspiracy revels in. Think back to the searing Blue/Orange. Directed by Richard Wolfe, four performances at the PuSh Festival were not nearly enough.”
— Jo Leddingham, The Courier (Thom Pain)
“Richard Wolfe’s Theatre Conspiracy production brings Martin McDonagh’s world vividly alive in all its dark comic grotesquery.” —Jerry Wasserman, The Province (A Skull in Connemara)
“Theatre Conspiracy’s production of Omniscience is a fine fit between Carlson’s nuanced murder-mystery and the sensibilities of director Richard Wolfe.” —The Vancouver Sun (Omniscinece)
“Cleverly staged and well acted, Penhall’s award-winning script deftly welds race issues to office politics, medical ethics and morality without allowing the plot to yield once to grand proclamations that would certainly seem out of place in the tight drama he has crafted…”
—Dan Rowe, Vancouver Sun (Blue/Orange)
“Without a doubt, this production will be one of the smartest, funniest, most compelling shows you’ll have a chance to see this summer.”
—Colin Thomas, Georgia Straight (Blue/Orange)