“Remarkable”, “exceptional”, “truly wonderful” ... George Stagnell’s one-man performance of Michael Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful attracted five-star reviews, sellout audiences and standing ovations at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe.
 
Edinburgh Festival Magazine said it was a “stunning example of small-scale theatre in action” and praised the “ingenious use of lighting and sound, not to mention the haunting performance put in by George Stagnell”.

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In a five-star review, it said Stagnell skilfully takes charge and is impossible to take your eyes away from”.

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In another five-star review, the Edinburgh online magazine the Southside Advertiser said Stagnell’s “exceptional performance was funny, moving, and heart-breaking at times, and the entire audience, which included several children, was completely engrossed throughout”.

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Blogger Charlotte Coster – a member of the Network of Independent Critics – said the production was “truly wonderful”. She said the “very talented Stagnell sucked you into the emotional story right from the beginning and you were left wrapped up in his/the story’s spell until the end”.

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She also praised the companion piece Songs From A Shropshire Lad and the “heart-wrenching” performance by Sam Hird.

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The Fringe run followed a week of previews in York that earned a five-star review from the arts editor of the York Press , who said it was a "remarkable performance" by George Stagnell, one of the finest acting talents he'd seen in four decades of reviewing.

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​Many people came up at the end of the Fringe performances at the Space on Niddry Street or posted on social media to say Private Peaceful was the best theatre they'd seen at the Fringe this year.

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Michelle Hill posted on the Fringe website: “By far the best drama we watched at the Fringe this year! Superb acting that held the audience attention from the moment it started to the finish. Every scene and many characters portrayed by one brilliant young actor – George Stagnell. Miss it at your peril!!”