“…incredibly powerful. Festival veteran Sean Arbuckle is devastating and captivating in what is quite possibly one of the best performances to ever grace this stage, and he is fully supported by an outstanding cast around him…

The Studio Theatre is already an intimate space, but by the end of this play, you could hear a pin drop as the entire opening night audience was holding its breath. We all inhaled and exhaled along with Thomas – collectively breathing life into a play about death and thus do our part to make it clear it is in fact about so much more.”

“Sean Arbuckle may be giving the best performance of his 21-year tenure at the Stratford Festival. He is mesmerizing…

Laura Condlln brilliantly navigates her transition from hysterical anger to rapprochement with her dying brother…

Krystin Pellerin has less to do as Princess Diana, but she does it beautifully…

Anyone who cares about good acting (not to mention good direction) should make a beeline to this production.”

“Though Casey and Diana features gay men dying of AIDS, what Green has really written is an ars moriendi play. That’s why the play is so moving. It may be based on a very specific incident but it subject is universal: “How do we best prepare ourselves for our final moments?”…

Arbuckle provides a masterclass in how to project multiple sides of a character simultaneously….

Krystin Pellerin is in the unique position of being the first actor to portray Princess Diana at Stratford. With the help of Joshua Quinlan’s accurate costumes and with a study of Diana’s typical body language and pattern of speech, Pellerin becomes a surprisingly effective incarnation of the People’s Princess. “

“…a clear-eyed celebration of the courageous caregivers, often women, and a people’s princess who combatted that stigma…

In a play full of excellent performances both showy and subtle, [Linda] Kash’s is the most unique and indelible – a rounded portrait of one of those women who have been pushed aside in society due to not conforming to sexist expectations in shape or sensibility and yet give so much back to society in their unpaid labour at hospices, or charities, or, indeed, at theatre companies.”

“In his performance as Thomas, Arbuckle ably demonstrates that human need to find humour in the darkest of moments, softening the sadness with a well-timed joke or cheeky comment. Both Arbuckle and Davinder Mahli as Andre, Thomas’s new and tragically young roommate, also show their considerable acting chops in portraying the physical tolls AIDS has taken on their characters’ bodies…

Casey and Diana offers audiences a glimpse into the lives of two men and the women who care for them as they find hope and meaning in circumstances where there is precious little of either”

“A stunningly moving and dynamically executed theatrical experience that can’t be missed but, while coated with much-appreciated moments of laughter and joy, be prepared for an inevitable Niagara falling of tears…

Arguably the most labyrinthine persona in dire need of disclosure for the audience’s sake is Thomas’ sister Pauline. She’s abrasively loud and more often aggressive but no less an insecure individual plagued by a host of troubles with her past and present defined, often inaccurately, as episodes of heartlessness and misunderstanding.

In a lively multi-faceted performance, Laura Condlin is magnificently believable, capturing the intricacies of a woman who draws upon her more than obvious failings yet laterally unearths a passionate side submerged by a circle of tragedies encompassing much of her life.”

“It’s a tough, exhausting story that could easily settle into melodrama or sentimentalism — but it never does…

It’s Condlln’s Pauline who perhaps enjoys the most linear of emotional journeys in Casey and Diana, a grieving sister who doesn’t yet seem to understand the persistence and inevitability of AIDS. As the play evolves and matures, so does she, and Condlln’s performance is note-perfect, capturing every layer of a woman doomed to be an only child once more.”

“Green, director Andrew Kushnir, and an impeccable six-person cast have crafted a play and production that invites profound emotional response through restraint, thoughtfulness, and — believe it or not — considerable humour…

The laughs come in large part from Green’s beautifully observed writing and Sean Arbuckle’s brilliant playing of Thomas, who crafted an identity around being the one with the zinger lines, be they quotes from “Steel Magnolias” or withering putdowns of the over-invested volunteer Marjorie (Linda Kash), who can give as good as she gets.

But the humour and the pathos come from more than witty exchanges. Each of the six characters is written with complexity and compassion: They’re all imperfect people stumbling their way through unthinkably challenging situations, and sometimes their mistakes and misunderstandings are quietly funny.”