Reviews of David’s writing include:
Books
Stuttard is skilled at drawing together background information that adds context to his characters’ actions, seamlessly smuggling exposition of Greek and Persian society and customs into his narrative. Nemesis demonstrates how readable and entertaining popular narrative ancient history can be, and adds a focus on social history to the military and political story.
Carol Atack, Times Literary Supplement, Nemesis: Alcibiades and the Fall of Athens
A few great men operating in isolation – too often this is the way ancient Greece is described to us. Stuttard puts the very greatest into their historical, political and cultural contexts and coaxes some of the lesser known centre stage. Compelling, sympathetic, revelatory and charismatic – a vital volume.
Bettany Hughes, A History of Ancient Greece in 50 Lives
A wonderfully accessible guide to a dazzling play. David Stuttard's introduction and translation, along with critical essays by twelve different scholars, offer richly varied ways of looking at Medea.
Pat Easterling, Looking at Medea
Superbly structured and elegantly written, the book is a vehicle for Stuttard’s intimate feel for the fabric of the ancient world, with its customs, quirks, neuroses, and prejudices. He has, in particular, a profound understanding of the myths and rituals of Ancient Greece, and the book is an imaginative and vivid reconstruction. Stuttard’s account of the Olympics in their classical heyday has it all, and is to be warmly recommended.
Current World Archaeology, Power Games
A vibrant re-creation of the lead-up to the games, followed by an account of the events, celebrations and banquets on each day of the festival. Stuttard’s writing is immensely readable and engaging.
BBC History Magazine, Power Games
Splendid. Easily the most attractive available narrative account of Roman Britain from Caesar to the departure of the legions c. AD 410. This is some achievement.
Literary Review, The Romans Who Shaped Britain
With clarity, wit, and keen attention to historical fact, the authors systematically debunk the old myths... Stuttard and Moorhead pack the text with colourful detail and perceptive insight, presenting the history of this turbulent period with deceptive simplicity.
Current World Archaeology, 31BC, Antony, Cleopatra and the Fall of Egypt
My favourite feature of AD 410 is the writing. Picking a chapter at random, you can get a sense for the clear style of a story-teller ... particularly skilled at breathing life back into a cast of long-dead characters.
about.com, AD 410, The Year That Shook Rome
A lively, read-on account.
Church Times, AD 410, The Year That Shook Rome
Translations and Adaptations
David Stuttard's translation gives Euripides' wisdom a classic turn of phrase.
The Independent
[Stuttard's] prose is admirably direct and accessible.
The Guardian
David Stuttard can make language crack and spark like an electric storm.
Yorkshire Evening Press
Part of what makes David Stuttard's production so confidently coherent is that he is both the director and the translator, so text and presentation work in harmony. Both achieve the contemporary resonance they desire with tact and subtlety… credible in the original Greek context, rich in its immediate resonance.
Irish Times
Stuttard combines Greek scholarship with considerable theatrical flair and a true playwright's instinct for dialogue.
Times Educational Supplement
The great luck of it is to be doing David Stuttard’s wonderful translations.
Fenella Fielding
Η διασκευή αυτή ακολουθεί το κείμενο του Ευριπίδη μεταφρασμένο με ιδιαίτερη δεξιότητα από τον David Stuttard, καταρτισμένο κλασικό φιλόλογο και έμπειρο μεταφραστή του αρχαίου δράματος.
(This adaptation of Euripides’ Medea, which I had the pleasure of attending, was based on the masterful translation of David Stuttard, a very learned classical scholar and skilled translator of Greek drama.)
Protagon
General
David Stuttard is a classicist well-known for translating and directing Greek plays. His career represents an admirable commitment to popularising classical culture and making it accessible to new non-specialist audiences.
Current World Archaeology
Remember studying Greek plays at school? All those choruses. All those different gods of Olympus. All that catharsis. Thank god (you can pick which one) for theatre company Actors of Dionysus, who have always sought to ‘put the flesh on the bones of ancient Greek drama’. For 20 years, David Stuttard’s company have been bringing millennia-old plays to life.
Time Out