Tobias Shaw
~ a c t o r ~
R E V I E W S
Clown in The 39 Steps - "It is the phenomenal acting from the four performers that capture the audience’s hearts from beginning to end."
"As far as Shaw and Wilder are concerned, their official character names are “Clowns 1 and 2,”: they portray every other character (and even inanimate objects) throughout the entire play at break-neck speeds, approximately 30 for each actor. Their versatility is incredible to behold. Tobias Shaw usually portrays the manic male characters, especially the antagonist Professor Jordan. Shaw looks very much like Canadian character actor Stephen HcHattie hyped up on caffeine and amphetamines. Their comedic timing is impeccable and they fit with their co-stars wonderfully. Superior acting, meticulous direction, and sharp dialogue. These ingredients compose an entertaining farcical comedy called The 39 Steps."
Laguna Beach Coastline Piolet - Tom Titus
Clown in The 39 Steps - "The other two players — who share well over 100 character identities — are billed simply as Clown No. 1 and Clown No. 2, and are riotously interpreted by Nicholas Wilder and Tobias Shaw. These superlative supernumeraries maintain the frenetic pace the show demands and are primarily responsible for its ultimate success."
Tulsa World -
Clown in The 39 Steps - "Everyone else -- policemen, politicians, innkeepers, farmers, spies and counterspies, music hall entertainers, even bits of the landscape -- are embodied by the Clowns, Nicholas Wilder and Tobias Shaw, who navigate a welter on quick costume changes and accents with the grace and efficiency of greyhounds racing after rabbits. They're a whole lot funnier, as well."
Clown in The 39 Steps - "Shaw keeps busy – very, very busy – in all the supporting roles. Watch for the scenes with multiple characters. It's jaw-dropping and hilarious to see one actor play two people conversing with each other."
Clown in The 39 Steps - "Then there are the duo of Nicholas Wilder and Tobias Shaw who excel in incarnating the 102 other characters on display. Their quick-change routines and physical escapades are in themselves worth the price of admission. Plus the pratfalls performed here seem to be injury-defying."
Clown in The 39 Steps - "(Nicolas Wilder and Toby Shaw) seamlessly transform into different minor characters, creating both laughter and tension for the audience. Their constantly changing identities coupled with their deliberate exaggerated acting definitely reinforce the playfulness and the flow of the play."
The Pueblo Chieftain -
Joanne Dodds
Clown in The 39 Steps - "But, it was the two characters described in the program as clowns that made the play a comic delight. Nicholas Wilder and Tobias Shaw played 150 unique characters. It was "a you had to have seen it to believe it" performance. Their timing alone was fantastic."
The Collegian -
Joe D. Molina
Clown in The 39 Steps - "A mere four-member cast inexhaustibly performs 150 unique roles to skin-crawling perfection. Besides Fenaughty’s single role as Hannay and co-star Larissa Klinger’s triple, the crème de la crème were the clowns! Clown No. 1 and No. 2, played by Nicholas Wilder and Tobias Shaw, split the remainder of the characters. Sometimes, even performing three roles simultaneously, flipping through personalities with the change of a hat, an accent or a pose."
"The 39 Steps cast was unreal."
Staunton News Leader -
Charles Culbertson
Prince Pretty Man in The Rehearsal - "Tobias Shaw acquits himself extremely well as a juggler and manipulator of objects. W.C. Fields would be proud."
Hotspur in Henry IV, part 1 - "Tobias Shaw stands out as the bi-polar – and sometimes delightfully funny – Hotspur."
