Old Vic

Tom Stoppard’s now classic play returns to the Old Vic and becomes the first critical hit of the autumn. The praise was not quite universal and some reviewers were less impressed by Stoppard’s clever script than others but the quality of acting and Max Webster’s production carried the day for nearly all. The play within a play structure examines the meaning of love, and drama as a way of conveying it.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

Time Out’s Andrzej Lukowski (4★) described the play as ‘a dazzlingly arch exploration of performative identity’. He said ‘Max Webster’s production is direct and accessible’ but is convinced, ‘this absolutely would not work without McArdle, whose combination of louche intellectualism, ebullient physicality and startling inner seriousness is just perfect – he plays the complicated role like some sort of esoteric string instrument.’

Nick Curtis in The Standard (4★) wrote, ‘It’s impossible not to be carried away by the brio of the whole thing, though: the way the plays-within-the-play inform mesh and overlap; the joyous relish of words; the potent, romantic yearning at the core for something pure. Here, a script is famously likened to a cricket bat, engineered to send the ball of an idea soaring without apparent effort. The Real Thing is such a play, and Webster and his cast play a blinder with it.’

The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar (4★) found it ‘Artfully directed by Max Webster, with wonderful long-shadowed lighting by Richard Howell and a poppy soundtrack, the drama’s artifice is playfully exposed, maybe even sent up’ ‘at this drama’s heart is a timeless study of passion and art that 40 years on remains…exquisitely intact.’

Dominic Maxwell in The Times (4★) proposed The Real Thing as ‘the greatest Stoppard, the one that best blends formal audacity with wondrous wit and, crucially, extraordinary emotional acuity. Yet it took me a while to succumb to Max Webster’s slightly skittish production, acted out, in Peter McKintosh’s design, in a rectangle of creamy furnishings amid a sea of royal blue.’ He ended, ‘The longer it goes on, the more this production finds a plangent tone where the witty, the wise and the wounded are forever colliding.’

Marian Swain for LondonTheatre (4★) praised the director and the stars: ‘Webster beautifully punctuates his production with pop music’… ‘McArdle finds an effective balance between making Henry a facetious, maddening hypocrite and a surprisingly vulnerable romantic’ … ‘the excellent Bel Powley adds depth and fire to Annie’. She concluded, ‘the passionate performances help to counter the charge that Stoppard is merely a “clever” writer. Listen to McArdle’s Henry confess his intimate truth that “knowing, being known” is the most exquisite joy of love, and you discover that the playwright’s much-vaunted articulacy is in service of a beating heart.’

Steve Dinneen for CityAM (4★) was enamoured: ‘sometimes it’s fun to simply watch a master expertly place one word before the next in an order that frequently takes your breath away.’

Sarah Hemming writing in the Financial Times (4★) lavished praise on all aspects of the production: ‘Stage managers become part of the action, rushing to rearrange Peter McKintosh’s handsome, electric-blue living room set, as if dressing a display in department store Heal’s. The top-drawer cast bring out both the pithiness and the pain of Stoppard’s script.’

Sarah Crompton at WhatsOnStage (4★) was just as captivated. It was, she said, ‘a sophisticated and enjoyable revival of a play that still, beneath its beautiful veneer of humour, has the heft to raise troubling and endlessly fascinating questions about the state of the human heart and how we describe it.’ She too paid tribute to its star: ‘At its heart is a sensational performance from James McArdle’.

The Telegraph’s Dominic Cavendish (3 ★) found it ‘Admirable and cleverly engaging, but not wholly loveable.’ He commented, ‘while Max Webster’s production delivers consummate style… its emotional substance is more uneven.’

Alice Saville for The Independent (3★) both liked and disliked the play: ‘there’s something resolutely unfashionable about its spectacle of adulterous middle-class couples being beastly to each other in beige living rooms. It’s Stoppard being his most brilliant, most infuriating self’. She was impressed by the lead actor: ‘James McArdle is fantastically eloquent in the central role of Henry’

Fiona Mountford for the i (3★) wasn’t keen, describing it as ‘a strongly cast revival of Tom Stoppard’s wordy but hollow 1982 rumination upon real life versus fiction, fidelity against infidelity. For all the play’s flaws, James McCardle and …Bel Powley are terrific in the leading roles.’ ‘On it goes, slick but arid and when it ends it’s a challenge to know what we’re meant to take away from it.’

Sam Marlowe for The Stage (3★) found much to admire but ‘None of it seems to matter very much. But clever? Of course.’

Gary Naylor at BroadwayWorld (2★) was not impressed at all: ‘the play I witnessed seemed barely worthy of praise, never mind the avalanche of plaudits that have come its way since its premiere 42 years ago and consequent to its many revivals since. Had I missed something? In pooh-poohing the assessments of so many fine judges, was I just being a bear of very little brain? Or had this soapy tale (albeit with longer words, but almost as much shouting) merely outlived its utility? Probably a bit of all three.’

3.5★

Critics’ Average Rating 3.5★

Value rating 54 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price.)

The Real Thing can be seen at the Old Vic Theatre until 26 October 2024. Click here to buy tickets direct from the Old Vic

If you’ve seen The Real Thing at the Old Vic, please add your review and rating below

Duke of York’s Theatre

Benedict Lombe‘s Shifters was a huge success from the fringe powerhouse that is the Bush Theatre and has now transferred to the West End.  It’s a love story told in flashbacks about two people in Britain, one with Nigerian and the other Congolese heritages. We see their first love and follow them through breakups and reconciliation as their careers burgeon. At the Duke of York’s, some of the audience are on stage to recreate the traverse feel of the Bush production. The critics were universal in their 4 star reviews.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

Tom Wicker writing for The Stage (4★) was one of the few reviewers to attend the West End transfer. He handed out plaudits to the author and the cast: ‘Her brilliant ear for the cadence of their changing lives, including the darker notes, is energising.’ ‘It’s funny, grounded in authenticity and blessed with a pair of leads whose charisma pulls you effortlessly into its bittersweet tenderness.’ He expanded on his praise for the two leads: ‘Heather Agyepong and Tosin Cole, both returning from the original production, make every line sing: they’re hugely funny, but teetering on the edge of heartbreak.’

Fiona Mountford in the i (4★) thought ‘the skill of Lombe and the entire Shifters team (was) to wear tender profundity deceptively lightly.’

Other reviews are from its run at the Bush Theatre.

Nick Curtis in The Standard (4★) called it ‘a pretty-much perfect, bittersweet modern rom-com’. He said, ‘Director Lynette Linton draws achingly subtle, detailed performances from her two leads, which showcase the fine grain of Lombe’s writing.’ Frey Kwa Hawking at WhatsOnStage (4★) declared, ‘It’s a play unafraid to take its time, unfolding with careful tenderness Des and Dre’s drifting apart and coming back together, the feeling of ineffability to them, what happens when it seems to stutter.’

Donald Hutera writing for The Times (4★) was impressed by the two leads, ‘They embody two unpretentiously articulate, passionate, complicated and vulnerable people ineluctably drawn towards each other even when they appear to be most in opposition. Des and Dre’s romance unfolds in a splintered fashion that nevertheless feels satisfying, believable and whole.‘ He ended, ‘Lombe’s touching, emotionally intelligent and contemporary black British love story is itself easy to fall in love with.‘

The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar (4★) said it had ‘real heart, soul and the everyday tragedy of long-lost first loves.’ She observed, ‘Directed by Lynette Linton, the pace at first feels meditative, and this allows the romance to fire up from its depths.’ Anya Ryan for Time Out (4★) said, ‘Lombe is a beautiful, nuanced and soulful writer and this is a romance overflowing with heart.’ She noted, ‘Alex Berry’s set is largely bare but decorated with luminous strip lights that look like lightning bolts and flash in different colours to show a change in the timeline. Standing among them, the actors look like they are part of something astronomical.’

Abbie Grundy for BroadwayWorld (4★) thought ‘Shifters is strongest at its most comedic. It’s here where the audiences fall in love with the characters.‘ and went on to say, ‘Shifters is a poignant piece of theatre. It’s the kind of love story you cannot help but root for and the soul connection many crave, elevated by sharp direction from Lynette Linton and undeniable chemistry from the performers.’ Aleks Sierz, taking a seat at TheArts Desk (4 ), said it was ‘exquisitely written and beautifully acted’.

Kirsten Grant, reviewing for the Telegraph (4★), said, ‘Lombe’s writing, suffused with wit and warmth, is exquisitely poetic at times. She’s at her best in those early scenes where the sharp, quick-fire verbal jousting between Cole’s Dre and Agyepong’s Des fizzes and snaps while revealing something deeper bubbling underneath.’ She was slightly more reserved than some in her praise: ‘At the heart of this drama is the connection between the two leads, at once electric and sweetly endearing. It’s a promising work from an up-and-comer still honing her craft.’

In The Stage‘s (4★) review of the Bush presentation, Holly O’Mahoney said, ‘Lombe delivers a tender, cosmic and cleverly unpredictable love story that will leave you wishing for a sequel.’

Critics’ Average Rating 4.0★

Value rating 62 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price.)

Shifters can be seen at the Duke of York’s Theatre until 12 October 2024. Click here to buy tickets from the theatre

If you’ve seen Shifters at the Bush Theatre or the Duke of York’s, please add your review and rating below

Trafalgar Theatre

Patrick Barlow‘s spoof version of the Hitchcock film, itself based on a John Buchan thriller, tells the story of Richard Hannah on the run from German spies and the British police, using minimal props and multiple theatrical effects. At the beginning of the century, it ran in the West End for nine years. It won an Olivier Award for Best Comedy and a couple of Tonys for Best Play and Best Direction during its Broadway run. Although it has hardly changed, this revival has not proved as popular with the critics as one might expect for such a previously successful show. The cast were praised, but the reviews were divided between those who thought the play was a classic farce and those who found it ‘creaky’.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

Marianka Swain, popping up at LondonTheatre (4★), was a fan: ‘Balancing suspense with slapstick, and a cracking yarn with theatrical in-jokes, it’s a welcome piece of thoroughly escapist entertainment.’ ‘One moment you’ll be giggling at the sheer ridiculousness, the next gasping at a surprisingly brilliant coup de théâtre,’ she promised. She praised all the cast, mentioning ‘Safeen Ladha is a hoot as Hannay’s various love interests’.

Alun Hood at WhatsOnStage (4★) liked it a lot, ‘It’s quirky, swift, ingenious and altogether a smashing hour and three quarters in the theatre.’ He explained: ‘It takes a lot of skill to make something look this hilariously ropey, and the show delights in the unashamedly theatrical … It’s inventive and often very silly, but it never sends up the story itself’. The cast were praised, in particular, ‘Maddie Rice is the epitome of somebody with ‘funny bones’.’

CityAM‘s Adam Bloodworth (4★) enthused, ‘The 39 Steps is an homage to the roots of theatre: these skits could have been performed 100 years ago. That they still work today is testament to the power of clowning and physical theatre, without massive technological bells and whistles, to amuse and delight.’

Franco Milazzo’s review for BroadwayWorld (3★) starts well: ‘Patrick Barlow’s parody The 39 Steps creaks and groans in places but still has plenty of laughs’ but ends ‘there’s a dated feel about this play that lacks the audacious physical japery of later stage spoofs like The Play That Goes Wrong.’ Fiona Mountford at i-news (3★) found, ‘Time hangs heavy as one fast-paced escapade hurtles into the next, given that emotional engagement with these characters is vanishingly hard to come by.’

Calling it ‘sluggish and lethargic’, Claire Allfree in the Telegraph (2★) pointed out, ‘Speed, in short, is of the essence. But speed is precisely what’s missing in tour director Nicola Samer’s production’. Dave Fargnoli in The Stage (2★) said, ‘for all the slickness of the staging, this is a creaky piece that displays little love for the source material’.

Chris Wiegand for The Guardian (2★) also thought it didn’t work: ‘Too often you sense the wheels turning instead of losing yourself in the fun. The play should be equal parts thriller, comedy and romance – an ambitious mix – but it doesn’t satisfy on any of those levels.’ He concluded, ‘the result can sometimes feel less like a thrilling race against the clock and more of a garbled rush.’

While his peers compared it unfavourably to The Play That Went Wrong, The Standard’s Nick Curtis (2★) had a different comparison in mind: ‘this revival looks tired compared to successors in a similar vein, most obviously the sublime mini-musical Operation Mincemeat’.

Critics’ Average Rating 2.9★

Value rating 42 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price.)

The 39 Steps can be seen at Trafalgar Theatre until 28 September 2024. Click here to buy tickets direct from the theatre

If you’ve seen The 39 Steps at the Trafalgar Theatre, please add your review and rating below

OlivierAuditorium, National Theatre

John Steinbeck’s 1930s novel The Grapes of Wrath tells of a family’s trek across America lookibg for a better life  it’s a grim story and this new production is faithful to it  The critics were divided on whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. Many praised xx’s grinding production but others were bored. Few had a good work for the old fashioned 1988 adaptation  The cast were universally praised with US star Cherry Jones more than justifying her plane ticket.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

Accepting ‘there is little joy here’, JN Benjamin for the Financial Times (4★) found solace in the acting: ‘(Cherry) Jones’s tender performance is like a warm embrace‘ and ‘Harry Treadaway is quietly fierce’. Dave Fargnoli in The Stage (4★) also centred on the actors: ‘Although the production feels perhaps overly reverent towards the source material, these powerful, heartfelt performances remain absorbing, channelling the desperation, hope and fury of Steinbeck’s story.’

Fiona Mountford for i-news (4★) said, ‘Carrie Cracknell’s sweeping and epic production of stylishly sculpted ensemble work…makes us uncomfortably, insistently aware of the modern-day parallels’. Julia Rank at LondonTheatre (4★) spoke of ‘a brilliantly striking production’ coupled with ‘a superb ensemble’. Claire Allfree in the Telegraph talked about a  ‘stealthily exacting production’.

Nick Curtis in The Standard (3★) worried ‘the melodramatic scenarios and the stylised dialogue threaten to tip over into parody’. Fortunately it was saved by ‘the elegance of Cracknell’s direction and Alex Eales’ set’. He found it ‘lacking in drama’ but said the cast ‘remain compelling to watch’. The Independent’s Alice Saville (3★) declared, ‘It’s brutal, powerful stuff. But somehow this production still doesn’t have the aesthetic or thematic boldness to link together its two halves’.

Andrzej Lukowski in Time Out (3★)  said, ‘It’s not awful or anything, but its reverence for Steinbeck’s text – and determination to retain most of his characters and much of his dialogue – leaves it feeling like a radio play’. He added helpfully, ‘Great story, great cast, great accents; but it’s not Cracknell’s most imaginative hour by a long shot – a fresh adaptation might have made all the difference.’

The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar (3★) found it lacking in boldness. ‘Slow-paced and with a lack of incident in the first half, it feels more like a stately procession than a moving, breathing piece of theatre,’ she said. Cindy Marcolina at Broadway World (3★) called it ‘so, so slow and stagnant’

Alun Hood for WhatsOnStage (3★) summed up: ‘For all the astonishing and sometimes beautiful stage pictures, the understated brilliance of Jones’s performance, and the haunting musicality, I’m not convinced that this isn’t a story that is better told on page or screen.’

The Times’ Dominic Maxwell (2★) made his feelings clear: ‘What a miserable evening!’ Susannah Clapp in The Observer (2★) was equally scathing: ‘it is hard to feel the need for this theatrical version’.

Critics’ Average Rating 3.2★

Value rating 36 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price.)

The Grapes of Wrath can be seen at the National Theatre until 14 September 2024. Click here to buy tickets directly from the theatre

If you’ve seen The Grapes of Wrath at the National Theatre, please add your review and rating below

@sohoplace

The original Death Of England play by Clint Dyer and Roy Williams opened at the National Theatre in early 2020. It was followed later in the year by Death Of England: Delroy (the original being renamed Death Of England: Michael). A third play Death Of England: Closing Time came to the National in September 2023. Now all three plays are getting a run at Sohoplace. The first two, slightly updated, have opened, with Closing Time opening on 22 August.  Each can be enjoyed separately or in any order. Michael and Delroy are best friends, one white, one black. Their monologues describe their experiences of class, race and masculinity. Thomas Coombes plays Michael, Paapa Essiedu is Delroy. The director is Clint Dyer. Some critics reviewed them separately, some together.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

Death of England

Dzifa Benson in the Telegraph (4★) concluded ‘This blistering cycle of plays is a compelling case for why England needs fresh ideas. The overarching message seems to be: England is dead, God save England.’ She was impressed by ‘Coombes’ and Essiedu’s astonishing physicality and bravura performances portraying multiple characters through switching accents and mannerisms with convincing ease.’ For Olivia Rook at LondonTheatre (4★) ‘Thomas Coombes (Baby Reindeer) gives a startling performance as a confused young man, simultaneously rejecting and perpetuating his father’s legacy of prejudice’ and ‘Essiedu’s performance is incendiary’.

Anya Ryan for Time Out (4★) noted, ‘At its best, the script feels like poetry. Words are sung out in repetition, phrases are echoed as memories in future scenes.’ He felt that Delroy was ‘the stronger and fuller of the two plays…It is a vigorous, loud and exhilarating act from Essiedu’.

Suzy Feay for the Financial Times (3★) referred to ‘the performers’ charisma, stagecraft and mastery of the space’ but preferred Michael to Delroy. She said of Essiedy in the latter: ‘his speeches seem slangy, improvised, sometimes hard to catch; overall, the piece has much less structure.’ Whereas Michael, ‘with its less sympathetic protagonist, is for that reason the more interesting piece and the tougher task for the actor.’

Dominic Maxwell in The Times (3★) said, ‘The writing crackles with contemporary life, while Dyer’s staging artfully uses every inch of the playing area.‘ Thomas Coombes gives, he said, ‘an extraordinary display of energy, presence and outsized wit’. Paapa Essiedu the speed of his wit and the variety of the voices he uses in this garrulous role — Delroy, like Michael, is a funny guy — are phenomenal’.
Like some other critics, Fiona Mountford at the i (3★) had reservations about the writing. She said, ‘while the staging and performances are near faultless, the writing is more of a challenge, and not always in a positive way. For starters, the 100-minute running time of each piece is far too long, greatly outstaying its potency’.

BroadwayWorld‘s Alexander Cohen (3★) decided Thomas Coombes’ ‘unmodulated firing-on-all-cylinders-attack-from-all-sides method results in a scorched earth rather than a clinical strike and clean kill’. Sam Marlowe of The Stage (3★) described ‘raw, unstinting performances from Thomas Coombes and Paapa Essiedu’. She talked of ‘Essiedu’s charisma sets the tinderbox account ablaze; it’s a phenomenal turn, vivid, witty, agonising and exhilarating.’

Death of England: Michael

Theo Bosanquet for WhatsOnStage (4★) said, ‘Watching Michael unravel in the close confines of @sohoplace is a visceral experience; it’s like being strapped to a rocket powered by fury.’ Arifa Akbar in The Guardian (3★) praised ‘an energetic central performance’ but said, ‘the tortured undertow of filial inadequacy, split loyalties between his father and his friend, Delroy, and jittery mournfulness, are not felt sharply.’ BroadwayWorld‘s Alexander Cohen (3★) thought ‘Roy Williams’s brilliance as a writer lies in the way he delicately coils intimacy into Michael’s soul’ but he decided Thomas Coombes’ ‘unmodulated firing-on-all-cylinders-attack-from-all-sides method results in a scorched earth rather than a clinical strike and clean kill’.

Death of England: Delroy

BroadwayWorld‘s Alexander Cohen (5★) wrote, ‘Essiedu really is a force of nature. Totally at ease, working the audience like a stand-up comic, then, with fox-like agility, backstabbing them with guttural force and working up to a symphonic crescendo.’

The Guardian (4★) said Paapa Essiedu’s ‘must-see’ performance ‘elevates this play into its own, one-man coup de theatre. Essiedu has astonishing poise, bringing tragic depth and integrity to Delroy but lilting joy and comedy, too. His enraged injustice, when it comes, is immense and you feel it burn. The sentimentality, when that comes, is transformed into a tenderness which brings tears to your eyes.’ Theo Bosanquet for WhatsOnStage (4★) declared, ‘Essiedu gives nothing short of a tour de force performance. He demands our focus and our judgment, literally turning us into his jury.’

Critics’ Average Rating 3.6★

Death of England can be seen at @sohoplace until 21 September 2024. Click here to buy tickets directly from the theatre

If you’ve seen Death of England, please add your review and rating below