'DIFFICULT WOMEN' is one of the most brilliant and powerful shows you're likely to see this year!'
Northern River's Echo

'A performance that left the audience almost BREATHLESS!'
THE PALMERSTON NORTH NEWS

'EMOTIONALLY MOVING . . .the whole is gutsy, gripping, at times hilarious and not a little shocking. . . it is guaranteed to whet your appetite for more.'
Bernadette Rae -THE NEW ZEALAND HERALD

'There are plenty of fine blues musicians around, but few, if any, have extended the genre's possibilities as far as LIN VAN HEK and JOE DOLCE in DIFFICULT WOMEN . . foot-stomping, full-throated blues and soothing gentle lullabies and ballads..'
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN

'VAN HEK gives an outstanding, moving rendition of SYLVIA PLATH's famous poem, 'DADDY'... she reads precisely and warmly, which is hard to do on stage without leaving the audience feeling alienated. She is an involving, generous performer. Her rendition of TAKE BACK THE NIGHT is particularly inspiring..'
Catherine Lambert, MELBOURNE HERALD-SUN

'With JOE DOLCE playing guitar, doing some poetry about MILES DAVIS and blowing some steaming harmonica, the show took on a breadth which made it feel like a true, universal celebration of the women involved and the struggles they personified. Magnificent among them all was FRIDA KAHLO! The sufferings of her life - her physical mutilations and spiritual torments - are confronted with such crazy, blazing humour, it is heartbreaking.'
THE EDINBURGH SCOTSMAN

'The night took off when VAN HEK came back on stage transformed into one of Mexican artist FRIDA KAHLO'S self-portraits. And it built in yet another direction when DOLCE took on the issue of male violence with a song about his father's violence toward him as a child.'
THE CANBERRA TIMES

'HEART-RENDING!'
WAIHEKE ISLAND GULF NEWS

'By far, the best touring show to make it to the shire interior, having played to packed houses at the inaugural Women's Festival. If you missed this one before, don't make the repeat error. TRULY STIRRING!'
Byron Shire Echo

'Lyttleton's Harbour Lights Cafe has a great atmosphere on any occasion but with an act of such freshness, depth and strength it was electric!JOE DOLCE is masterful in his accompaniment on harmonica and guitar. The first subject was KATHERINE MANSFIELD, the unexpurgated original, sexually ambiguous, gutsy and frank. This is a show of great class, inspirational, yet comfortably human. It is a 'must see' for both sexes and all ages.'
THE PRESS, CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND

'..A work to be cherished by humanists everywhere.'
ADELAIDE DB MAGAZINE

'ELECTRIFYING.'
Helen Thompson, THE MELBOURNE AGE

'DIFFICULT WOMEN'S message is as important as ever.'
GREEN LEFT WEEKLY

'DIFFICULT WOMEN'S most memorable quality is sheer camaraderie. The two performers throw themselves into their show with conviction and a great deal of warmth. Their songs, monologues and often amusing anecdotes took the chill off the art gallery auditorium's rather sterile atmosphere. VAN HEK'S account of her response to a drunken heckler was particularly engaging: she simply sang him a ferocious a Capella song she had picked up on her travels. We couldn't help but share in her glee - the fierce joy of being a DIFFICULT WOMAN had never been more evident.'
Leonie Reynolds - THE NEW ZEALAND HERALD

'VAN HEK's seemingly chameleon attributes enable her to capture the essence of each character flawlessly . . .DIFFICULT WOMEN is poignant and lyrical. It revives our faith in the virtues of personal expression under extreme pressure.'
THE MELBOURNE STAR OBSERVER

'JOE DOLCE's musicianship and song writing are better than ever. One of his newest songs, about forgiving his father's violence, has lyrics that an eminent poet would be proud to have written. DOLCE's setting of another poet's work, called 'MILE'S DELIGHT' is a show-stopping highlight!'
Chris Boyd, THE HERALD-SUN

'VAN HEK and DOLCE's show was tight, using perfect ingredients of humour, cynicism and strength as well as reminding us of these women in our past.'
ADELAIDE GAY TIMES

'What a stunning, electric, poignant and massively moving production this is! LIN VAN HEK explores and explains the turbulent lives of VIRGINIA WOOLF and CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN with wonderful aplomb. Absorbing, strongly humanist, strongly recommended!
EDINBURGH'S TRIPLE F

'Van Hek's and Dolce's work is overtly political and didactic, but it is delivered with such an exuberant and humourous style that the audience laughs as it learns. They both perform with a focused, illuminating intensity.'
Alan Scott - THE CHRISTCHURCH PRESS

' . . manic nightie-ripping interpretation of a fragment of Charlotte Perkins Gilman' s suberb short story, The Yellow Wallpaper . . .You come out singing!'
Peter Whitebrook, THE EDINBURGH SCOTSMAN

'This Australian duo breathes life into their 'DIFFICULT WOMEN.'
The Vancouver Sun

'DIFFICULT WOMEN is a literary cabaret. Through songs and stories the duo told tales of women past, women who, in their times, were described as 'difficult' or worse, 'mad' - Virginia Woolf, Sojourner Truth, Gertrude Stein, Katherine Mansfield and more. . .Van Hek's ability to move from one character to another was inspiring. Dolce, the man who wrote Australia's biggest selling single ever . .was brilliant on guitar and blues harp and he and Van Hek back each other superbly with their vocals. DIFFICULT WOMEN ran the gamut of emotional responses but mostly it had the crowd laughing out loud. Those who missed it, missed something grand!' Daily News

'My advice is haunt any stage at which the 'DIFFICULT WOMEN' are appearing!'
Faith Petric, SAN FRANCISO FOLKNIK MAGAZINE

'Difficult Women is in turn funny, poignant, and angry. It dazzles with brilliant intensity created by the power of Van Hek's acting and the luminosity of the writing. We are given extreme emotion or extreme mistreatment yet it is delivered by an actor so totally in control of her own skills that the women's words are never under played or overtaken. Van Hek is totally with it, completely focused, alive to every nuance of every word. ' THE PRESS, CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND

Extended Reviews (in .pdf format)

'Monologue of a Madwoman ' - THE PRESS

'Difficult Women', at Lyttelton - THE PRESS

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