Owen Whitelaw
How To Disappear - Traverse Theatre
​
The Scotsman ★★★★
"Owen Whitelaw’s handling of Robert’s beautiful Doric monologues an absolute masterclass in acting, as raw and truthful as it is understated"
​
The Gaurdian ★★★★
"Robert... played compellingly by Owen Whitelaw"
​
Edinburghguide.com ★★★★
"Robert, brilliantly captured by Owen Whitelaw"
​
The Stage ★★★
"Owen Whitelaw is impressive as the mentally unwell Robert... His is a deceptively complex performance"
​
Across The Arts ★★★
"The production belongs to Owen Whitelaw, whose performance as Robert is tremendous"
​
​
Trainspotting - Citizens Theatre
​
The Scotsman ★★★★★
Angus Miller, Chloe-Ann Taylor, Owen Whitelaw and Gavin Jon Wright are superb.
Broadway World ★★★★★
The performances from the five-strong cast are outstanding, and all worthy of mention.
The List ★★★★
When Owen Whitelaw's swaggering Begbie spies his drunken father in the street, it's easy to see the child in his wounded eyes. The scene is devastating in its tacit awareness of dysfunctional patterns emerging.
The Herald ★★★★
The cast of five make the material their own.
The Times ★★★
Owen Whitelaw brings such a discomfiting ambivalence and vulnerability to the sociopathic Francis Begbie that it makes you look anew at Welsh’s notorious hard man.
The Telegraph ★★★
A uniformly excellent, five-strong cast.
​
​
Unfaithful - Traverse Theatre
The Scotsman ★★★★
“A quartet of magnificent performances”
The Herald ★★★★
“The performances from Benny Young, Cara Kelly, Amiera Darwish and Owen Whitelaw are electric”
The Stage ★★★★★
“Owen Whitelaw finds unexpected depth in the pragmatic rentboy.”
The Times ★★★★
“Owen Whitelaw as the apparently forthright, secretly despairing Peter, Cara Kelly… Amiera Darwish… and Benny Young all excel.”
Time Out London ★★★★
“the class of the writing, acting and Rachel O’Riordan’s direction is certainly enough to make ‘Unfaithful’ a big highlight of this year’s Traverse programme.”
​
​
Slope – Untitled Projects/Citizens Theatre/Traverse Theatre
The Times ★★★★
“At the plays heart, however, is Verlaine's raging internal conflict between the desire for respectable domesticity and his own nature, resulting in a sordid descent into self pity and alcoholism and Owen Whitelaw responds with a wonderfully dynamic portrayal of guilt-ridden love.”
The Scotsman ★★★★
“Yet there’s still something troublingly familiar about the creative tension between wildness and respectability played out among the three characters, brilliantly conjured up by Owen Whitelaw as Verlaine, James Edwyn as Rimbaud, and Jessica Hardwick”
The Herald on Sunday ★★★★
“What ensues is a fascinating combination of powerful, up-close studio drama and live TV broadcast. In one moment, one might find oneself sitting next to the superb young actors Jessica Hardwick (Mathilde) and Owen Whitelaw (Paul) as they fight bitterly over the latter's addiction to the dangerous Rimbaud. At another, we are requested to, in effect, become extras in the live film.”
TV Bomb ★★★★★
“The drama is powerfully potent. Stewarts Laing's unflinching direction and Carter’s lithe script are the backbone that allows the brilliant cast of three (James Edwyn, Jessica Hardwick and Owen Whitelaw) to push their performances to a brutal intensity.”
Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner - National Theatre of Scotland
The Daily Telegraph ★★★★
These assiduously non-confessional Confessions provide an often witty, occasionally hilarious, and always excellently acted evening’s theatre
Alledinburghtheatre.com ★★★★
With Owen Whitelaw particularly impressive
Lothian Life ★★★★
A key role played so convincingly by Owen Whitelaw
Knives In Hens - National Theatre of Scotland
The Scotsman ★★★★
Owen Whitelaw's performance as the spasmodic miller is a theatrical tour-de-force.
The Gaurdian ★★★★
Driven by the thrilling, wild-eyed performances of Susan Vidler, Duncan Anderson and Owen Whitelaw, the production hits moments of electrifying intensity.
The List ★★★★
The scene in which Vidler and the Miller (Owen Whitelaw) explore their mutual attraction is incredibly moving.
OnstageScotland
Brilliantly performed by its committed ensemble.
The Life of Stuff - Theatre 503
whatsonstage.com ★★★★★
“From Claire Dargo’s trapped, desperate Janice to the painfully vulnerable Fraser (Owen Whitelaw, excellent), who only really wants to leave for Ibiza with 'best pal' Raymond, Donald's characters are, on the whole, expertly etched and emotionally nuanced.”
The Stage ★★★★
"A raw and visceral energy magnified by a superb cast whose performances sparkle with conviction."
A Younger Theatre
"Whitelaw spends the entirety of the play in a pair of aged underpants that leave so little to the imagination, it’s proof of his talent that we manage to focus on his face"
Off West End Awards
Nominated for BEST ENSEMBLE
In Time of Strife - National Theatre of Scotland
The Herald ★★★★★
"There are wonderful performances from Hannah Donaldson and Owen Whitelaw as the central couple."
The Times ★★★★
"An intensely powerful production... brilliantly performed by a fine ensemble."
King Lear - Citizens Theatre
What on Stage ★★★★★
"Hill's players are uniformly excellent. Owen Whitelaw's curve-limbed Fool is sharper than your average jester, relishing the wisdom of his riddles with a sly smile and soothing the tortured king with songs played out on a piano like a Weimar cabaret star."
The Telegraph ★★★★★
"The cast ... is excellent to an individual"
The List ★★★★
"A number of compelling supporting performances, most notably from Paul Higgins as Kent, Tony Cownie as Oswald and Owen Whitelaw providing relief from the gathering darkness as the Fool."
Critics Awards For Theatre In Scotland
Nominated for BEST ENSEMBLE
365 - National Theatre of Scotland
The Herald ★★★★
"Beautifully performed by the cast of 14"
Whats on Stage ★★★★
"Stand-outs including the painfully awkward Ben Presley, darkly comic Owen Whitelaw and quick-witted Rebecca Smith."
Broadwayworld.com
"Incredibly accomplished cast of actors ...and Owen Whitelaw who gives perhaps the most eye-catching and powerful performance of all"
Cockroach - National Theatre of Scotland
The Scotsman ★★★★
"The performances by a young, mainly Scottish cast stunningly clear and simple ... a breathtakingly fine bunch.”
Metro ★★★★
"The young cast turn in fine performances, with the first half’s knockabout banter particularly funny and true to life."
The Gaurdian ★★★
"Excellent Performances"
Critics Awards For Theatre In Scotland
Nominated for BEST ENSEMBLE
Cotton Wool - Theatre 503
The Times ★★★★
"The performances so simply committed that the spell is unbroken ... and the cheeky grin and wisecracks of Owen Whitelaw’s Gussie are always a heartbeat away from dissolving into the sulks and sobs of a frightened little boy."
Time Out Magazine ★★★★ (Critics’ Choice)
"He provides the perky Owen Whitelaw with ample opportunity to steal the show with sound comic timing and a winning pathos in more reflective moments."
What’s on Stage ★★★★
"Powerhouse performances from the cast (particularly Joseph Arkley and Owen Whitelaw as the brothers)"
The Guardian ★★★
"Arkley and Whitelaw ensure the final scenes have a genuine emotional power."
The Daily Telegraph
"Boasting a trio of faultless performances from Joseph Arkley, Owen Whitelaw and Victoria Bavister"
The Stage
"Fantastic performances from young actors who demonstrate the wealth of talent available to British theatre."