"That pretty much was sixty minutes of perfection."

BN1 Magazine

"The honesty behind Hallissey’s words is incredibly moving: Hallissey’s play proves itself to be a raw piece of storytelling."

The Wee Review

"The emotional punches are hard and raw. Hugely committed delivery. The script is impressive and wide-ranging."

London Pub Theatres

"With plays such as In The Shadow Of The Black Dog, we will teach ourselves one day to turn to our friends and be comfortable in asking for help when we most need it." 

Everything Theatre

"Hallissey knows how to craft a good line, whether it be a mid-coitus quip or acute observations on the codependence of life and death, and the human condition."

Auditorium Magazine

"The whole show felt like an intimate chat with your best mate. At moments, you felt like laughing and crying at the same time. A thought-provoking and exciting piece of theatre."

The Spy in the Stalls

"The show is an honest, and important, contribution to the public discourse on male mental health. A brave exercise in self-exploration, and could prove the useful conversation starter it hopes to be."

The Scottish Play

"In The Shadow of The Black Dog is an intimate, challenging piece that is not afraid to ask the questions that are often quick to be avoided."

Theatre Weekly

"Visceral in performance, In The Shadow of the Black Dog is innately human in response to loss. Profoundly personal, with an important goal."

The Skinny

"The play's messages about reaching out, talking things through and not suffering in silence, ring out loud and clear. An engaging show that reveals the deeper vulnerabilities of an outwardly confident male."

London Theatre 1

"In The Shadow Of The Black Dog delivers sharp characterisations with lovely delivery."

The Scotsman

"With suicide being the biggest killer of men under 50, In The Shadow Of The Black Dog, is clearly an important show."

Voice Mag 

“The writing is clever, witty and develops at a good pace. The situations are in turns moving and entertaining, created through an accomplished voice. You have created an entirely relatable, fully fleshed-out and distinct voice in your central character of Alquist. His real but unusual quirks make him feel very three-dimensional and completely human. Because he is so flawed it is incredibly easy to engage with the character for the entirety of the monologue. This is no mean feat! You tackle the subject matter with warmth, compassion, and complete understanding. It never feels laboured, another reason why the story is so compelling. I think this character is absolutely one we should be putting center stage, especially given the current crisis in men's mental health.”

George Turvey and Chris Foxon, Papatango Theatre Company

“We found it impossible not to root for Alquist’s success as you fill his character with warmth, wit and a disarming sense of honesty. His narration manages to hit an emotional truth whilst also finding space for humour and optimism.”

Ellie Horne, Literary Associate, Royal Court Theatre

“Daniel is an extremely thoughtful and brave writer of intelligence and wit, with intense honesty and humour, deftly pin-pointing recognisable and topical human traits and failings. He does not shy away from revealing aspects of himself in his work and drawing on personal experience. He shows a passion, combined with logic, for the art of story-telling which I have never witnessed before and I look forward to seeing what other stories he tells in the future. A solid script. Funny, engaging, heartfelt and raw. I loved it”

Libby Brodie, Producer, Libby Brodie Productions

“I really enjoyed ‘In the Shadow of the Black Dog’ and found it dark, stylish, funny and it’s consistently interesting and entertaining”

Owen Lewis, Director

“You kept the drama moving swiftly and the dialogue was really readable.  You’ve written a deeply flawed, but charismatic central character.”

Gillian Greer, Senior Reader, National Theatre

"Really engaging. There were a few one-liners/turns of phrase that had me laughing, and I liked the way you deferred the action, and emotional pay off enough for the events to feel surprising as they came up."

John O'Donovan, Nick Hern Books

“The script is brilliant. Intelligent writing. Great character. Well structured. It’s a strong story that raises important issues”

Annabel Bolton, Director

“The story is very moving and had my heart racing at points”

Hannah Tookey, Producer

"The writing throughout has a raw, emotional undercurrent offset by a comic impulse that frequently finds expression in self-deprecation. This is typical of an instinct to sniff out moments of pathos and explore this man’s anguish with a combination of severity and levity."

BBC Writersroom

This is a very interesting stream of consciousness that is both humorous and incredibly dark. We loved how this piece grapples with huge themes around suicide and depression while incorporating lightness and humour as well as the characters’ humanity.

Ifrah Ismail and Deirdre O’Halloran, Bush Theatre

“Funny, honest and really moving.”

Francis Grin, Playwrite

“Funny, engaging, raw, brutally honest and a piece that has great potential as it is so relevant and current.”

Belinda Lang, Actress and Director

“Really great script, bravo.”

Greg Mosse, Writer & Director