What our audiences said about Eddie & Jenny at the Exeter Phoenix when they wrote to us after attending the show:

• I've been seeing shows, plays, musicals for over fifty years, in the West End, on Broadway and all over this country but Eddie & Jenny I would rate as one of the best shows I have had the privilege to see.

• I attended the production with my family and found myself genuinely moved by several elements of the show.

• The blues songs were a real standout… original, emotionally resonant, and impressively varied in tone. They gave distinct voices to the characters and helped us connect with their inner lives in ways that felt natural rather than forced. The use of a live band on stage added to this intimacy, making the emotional beats land all the more deeply.

• The set design struck a delicate balance: minimalist, yet evocative. It guided us fluidly across locations (Exeter, Bristol and Leeds) without confusion, allowing space for the characters’ stories to breathe.

• I was especially struck by the show’s humour. The physical comedy, in particular, was sharp and surprisingly affecting, giving the piece a human warmth that elevated the heavier themes. The lead actress gave a performance that was both raw and refined, nuanced, expressive, and deeply believable.

• Crucially, the play handled its themes (homelessness, self-harm, and recovery) with care and authenticity. It shone a light on these realities without ever preaching and offered a respectful platform for the voices often unheard. The supporting cast contributed meaningfully, never overshadowing the central journey but enriching it with texture and charm.

• Eddie & Jenny is a thoughtful and often powerful piece that finds genuine heart in the spaces between hardship and hope.

• We absolutely loved Eddie & Jenny with it’s wonderful script, excellent acting and great songs. It explored complex themes sensitively gently encouraging the audience to think again before judging someone. Pure class from beginning to end.

• Eddie & Jenny is an inventive, engaging musical, gritty and joyous, stimulating empathy for homeless people, and weaving a touching love story against a background of loss and changing fortunes.

• The opening song ‘Hello’ is a super song, with moving stories. It was good how Danny combined them with spoken words to help the audience identify and empathise with the plight of the characters.

• It was great the way Danny brought unusual musical passages into standard 12-bar blues, transforming it into something else

• Alex as Jenny is so good! Eddie provided great vocals.

• A thought provoking topic very sensitively handled. I loved how the characters introduced themselves at the beginning of the show and shared the many ways in which circumstances drove them to their current life. Although this was set in the city of Exeter, it could easily be a story from anywhere as, sadly, homelessness affects so many people and places.

• The blues music was great, and the lyrics really helped to tell the story of Eddie and Jenny and some of their fellow shadow people. Emily and Jenny were beautifully portrayed by the actors. I shed a tear when Emily died!

• Well worth going to see if you get the chance. Great music and storytelling from Danny McAvoy. 5 stars.

• Eddie & Jenny is powerful, thought provoking and emotional all wrapped up together. It has certainly altered my view of the homeless and I feel I will engage with them rather than avoid eye contact as before. I genuinely cannot think of anything that could improve the show but the quality of acting, singing and musicianship must remain at the level we were so fortunate to see. I will definitely go to see it again

• I was really impressed and didn't know really what to expect. It was great. The show is a musical, about storytelling and is impactful. I particularly liked the guitars; the music and Jenny and Emily were especially good. It was well done.

• What can I say other than a work of pure genius by the mastermind that is Danny McAvoy. Worthy of a Broadway and West End production!