Shrek The Musical with music by Jeanine Tesori and book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire is back in a new production by Samuel Holmes and Nick Winston. Antony Lawrence and Joanne Clifton are the leads. Following a short tour, it has arrived in London but it seemed most of the critics, posting the worst reviews of the year so far, would be happy to send Shrek straight back to the swamp.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
Aliya Al-Hassain at LondonTheatre (3★) was the only mainstream critic who seemed to have any time for it, calling it a ‘buoyant stage musical adaptation’. She picked out Antony Lawrence’s performance as Shrek for praise.
Chris Wiegand in The Guardian (2) experienced ‘sludgy monotony and often unmemorable songs’ in a ‘show often feels flatly unadventurous’. Theo Bosanquet from WhatsOnStage (2★) was disappointed that ‘a production that relies so much on laughs just simply isn’t as funny anymore’. Kirsten Grant for the Telegraph (2★) called it ‘a cheap attempt to cash in on a cult favourite’ but she did draw a crumb of comfort from ‘a stand-out performance from Cherece Richards as Dragon, whose powerhouse vocals momentarily lifted the production’.
Labelling the musical ‘an atrocity’, Anya Ryan for The Times (1★) said ‘Their love story is in crying need of chemistry — instead, everything is shouted at a torturously loud volume.’ Nick Curtis in The Standard (1★) called it ‘pretty lame’. ‘The sets are a skimpy collection of poorly projected animations and flown-in flats,’ he said.
Critics’ Average Rating 1.8★
Value Rating 24 (Value Rating is the critics’ average rating combined with the typical ticket price)
The Hot Wing King at the Dorfman Theatre. Photo: Helen Murray
It doesn’t look like Katori Hall‘s Pultizer Prize winning comedy about race, masculinity and homophobia will be winning many awards this side of the Atlantic, if the predominantly three star reviews are anything to go by. The critics like the characters and the comedy in Roy Alexander Weise‘s production, as four black gay men in a Memphis kitchen prepare for a hot wings contest, but they found it overlong and some craved more depth.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
The Observer’s Kate Kellaway (5 ★) found it ‘a heartwarming, refreshing and original show’. Frey Kwa Hawking at WhatsOnStage (4★) found it long ‘But the characters are so likeable, and being in this house with them is so irresistible, that slowness can’t really be resented.’
Andrzej Lukowski’s review in Time Out (3★) made a similar point: ‘Hall’s play is a pleasure, but there are moments where it feels like an endurance test’. A similar thought came to Alexander Cohen at Broadway World (3★): ‘Hall’s flavours may not always mix and the bombastic jauntiness makes the melodramatic moments feel drawn out by contrast, but so what. This is a summer comfort watch.’ Nick Curtis in The Standard (3★) felt something similar: ‘Though overlong, this is a tasty, stimulating experience.’
The Times’ Clive Davis was warm rather than hot in his review in The Times (3★) saying it ‘trundles along merrily enough without justifying its ample running time.’ Arifa Akbar in The Guardian (3★) enjoyed the ‘humour, Black joy and relationship drama – in that order.’ Sarah Hemming in the Financial Times (3★) found much to appreciate, ‘Weise’s production savours both the playfulness and the emotional truths in the plot, and his cast all give affectionately observed and beautifully rounded performances.’
Claire Allfree in the Telegraph (3★) felt that Hall ‘in the end opts for feelgood emotion’. Dave Fargnoli for The Stage (3★) said, ‘As charismatic and vividly-drawn as these characters undoubtedly are, Katori Hall’s Pulitzer prize-winning culinary comedy tells an overstretched, overfamiliar story.’ Tom Birchenough for The Arts Desk (3 ★) concluded, ‘there’s richness of writing here, and the sheer enjoyment evident from the ensemble cast carries it resoundingly.’
Caissie Levy in Next To Normal. Photo: Marc Brenner
A suburban American family cope with a wife/mother with bipolar disorder in Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s musical Next To Normal. It is becoming almost commonplace for new musicals to take on heavy subject matter and the critics have been complimentary to this one for the way it uses music to convey the woman’s state of mind. The British production started at the Donmar Warehouse and has now transferred to the West End. Some of the critics had more reservations than others about the musical but it was generally agreed that Caissie Levy was exceptionally good in the lead role. Michael Longhurst directs.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
Tom Wicker for Time Out (4★) said, ‘Where this show unambiguously succeeds is in its sympathetic but clear-sighted depiction of a family buckling under buried grief and an impossible present…As Kitt’s attention-grabbing score and Yorkey’s lyrics wheel through differing genres, we get an aural sense of the characters’ messy kaleidoscope of feelings.’
Sam Marlowe in The Stage (4★) called it a ‘harrowing, tough-minded musical,’ saying it ‘rips out your heart and hands it back to you, bruised but overflowing.’ The Standard‘s Nick Curtis (4★) declared it was ‘Wonderfully sung and staged’.
Olivia Rook for London Theatre (4★) said, ‘The ‘musical soars in the hands of such an accomplished and connected cast.’ Abbie Grundy reviewing for Broadway World (4★) described it as ‘a delicate yet gut-punching exploration of mental health and grief’. He said, ‘The cast is as strong vocally as they are within their acting, giving justice to the punchy score.’
Dominic Maxwell in The Times (3★) found it a paradoxical show. He described it as ‘simultaneously sophisticated and plodding‘ and said he ‘found this tale of breakdown and potential recovery went from utterly persuasive to oddly shallow.’
Other reviewers caught it at the Donmar:
Marianka Swain in an earlier review for LondonTheatre (4★) said it ‘really puts you through the wringer in its raw depiction of mental illness and family disconnection. But this courageous and deeply moving piece provides ecstasy as well as agony, light as well as darkness.’ Suzi Feay writing for the Financial Times (4★) said it ‘stirringly depicts a woman’s steeply deteriorating condition and the havoc it wreaks on her family’.
Emma John writing for The Guardian (3★) found the main character Diana was ‘compellingly portrayed by Caissie Levy’. Her main reservation was that ‘the second half still feels overlong, as songs crash into each other without any concomitant plot development’.
Average critics’ rating 3.8★ Value Rating 44 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price.)
Imelda Staunton in Hello, Dolly! Photo: Manuel Harlan
Jerry Herman‘s 1964 musical about a matchmaker in late 19th century New York is given a lavish revival by Dominic Cooke, with an all-conquering Imelda Staunton in the title role. The critics lavished praise on every aspect of the production but saved the highest marks for Ms Staunton.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
Fiona Mountford in the i (5★) said, ‘The Palladium stage is cavernous, but the diminutive Staunton commands it utterly’. She declared, ‘It is delightful to be able to say that right here is a landmark theatrical production that will be talked about for years to come.’ Aliya Al-Hassan at Broadway World (5★) echoed the thought, ‘An immaculate Staunton is the heart of this production, but there is so much to enjoy about this truly joyful show. It will be spoken of in years to come’.
Marianka Swain for LondonTheatre (5★) called it ‘the show of the year’. She explained, ‘Every element is pitch-perfect, from Rae Smith’s delectable costumes…to Bill Deamer’s dreamy choreography…It’s like a Golden Age MGM movie come to life.’ ‘“My heart is about to burst,” the chorus sings. Same here’, said The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar (5★). She explained, ‘this production casts a magic spell. Dominic Cooke’s production is immaculately performed and slowly, beautifully life-affirming, with humour that reins in the schmaltz.’
Sarah Hemming in the Financial Times (5★) said, ‘Staunton brings her own blend of splinter-sharp comic timing and emotional depth to the part’. She was impressed that director Dominic Cooke ‘throws everything at it the vast Palladium stage can handle, relishing the chance to savour musical comedy at its bonkers best’. If that wasn’t enough, ‘Cooke and his cast find rich emotional truths and salient points in the story’. Kate Kellaway in The Observer (5★) said, ‘Staunton’s star quality…depends on her miraculous ability to stay genuine and intent, no matter how far-fetched the goings on around her. Naturalness and charm make her a joy to watch.’
Nick Curtis at the Standard (4★) described Imelda Staunton as ‘the driving force of Dominic Cooke’s sumptuous, effervescent production, even bringing a note of pathos to the story’s wry wit and knockabout daftness.’ Neil Norman in the Express (4★) declared that Imelda Staunton brings ‘light and shade to Dolly that only a serious actor at the top of her game could achieve.’ Patrick Marmion in the Daily Mail (4★) claimed, ‘Staunton has the musical wattage of a nuclear power station.’
The Independent’s Alice Saville (4★) described the production as ‘a lean mean entertainment machine’ and praised ‘Bill Deamer’s appropriately high-spirited choreography’. Holly O’Mahony in The Stage (4★) described it as ‘Sparkling with joie de vivre and running on a boisterous charm that prevents this safe but loveable production becoming overly sentimental’. Caroline McGinn reviewing for Time Out (4★) called it ‘a terrific old-fashioned show’.
Dominic Cavendish in the Telegraph (4★) loved Imelda Staunton’s performance: ‘The way this actress can expand to fill a space even while standing still, can have you hanging on the smallest look, whether expressive of beaming mischief, beady assertion or quiet vulnerability, and can raise the roof without breaking into a sweat, reaffirms her as one of British theatre’s greats‘ However, ‘the show itself is like a parade, a succession of scenes that don’t dig very deep’.
Dominic Maxwell in the Sunday Times (4★) was another who wasn’t that keen in the musical but was sold on the production because ‘Staunton owns it all, dances the dance between sad and silly, romantic and frantic. She makes grand conceits seem easy-peasy and serves it up smiling so it hits the back of the room with a satisfying thwack. She’s a true great.’
Critics’ Average Rating 4.4★
Value rating 49 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price.)
Justine Mitchell in Alma Mater at the Almeida Theatre. Photo: Marc Brenner
Kendall Feaver‘s drama covers the many ramifications of a sexual assault at a top university. Justine Mitchell only replaced Lia Williams in the lead role at the last minute but received excellent reviews. Some critics found the many complications of the plot satisfying, others simply confusing.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
Claire Allfree of the Telegraph (5★) declared, ‘Directed with pincer-like sharpness by Polly Findlay and beautifully performed, Feaver’s drama is one of the best yet to grapple with today’s culture wars’. She said Justine Mitchell brought to the lead role ‘magnificent, acid-tongued, arrogant flamboyance’.
The Financial Times‘ Sarah Hemming (4★) declared, ‘It’s not a perfect play — it is too schematic in places — but it’s a compelling, sharply resonant ethical workout.’ Sarah Crompton at WhatsOnStage (4★) found it ‘utterly absorbing and very powerful’. The characters, she said, ‘are always fully alive in their humanity and their shifting positions.’
Matt Wolf at London Theatre (4★) praised the new lead, ‘Is there a more quietly essential actress these days than Justine Mitchell…who illuminates every production in which she appears’? He liked the director too, ‘(Deborah) Findlay steers it with a cool, keen eye for the heated rhetoric it contains’. He pointed out, ‘Like any good play of this sort, you find yourself nodding in assent to one point of view only to soon be taken by another perspective altogether’, he continued.
What Matt found ‘satisfyingly labyrinthine’, others found confusing. Cindy Marcolina at Broadway World (3★) thought, ‘Alma Mater gets a lot right, but also puts too many irons on the fire’. Ryan Gilbey for The Guardian (3★) found ‘so many skeletons tumbling out of closets that the stage resembles a crypt rather than a college.’ Nick Curtis in the Standard (2★) was notably put off: ‘it’s undermined by Feaver’s desire to constantly wrong-foot the audience and cover every base. Think this is about assault? No, it’s about race. No, privilege. No, the power-dynamics of student-teacher relationships. No, the internal fault-lines of feminism.’
Two critics looked rather than loved it. Holly O’Mahony writing for The Stage (3★) felt the play was ‘guilty of intellectualising its subject matter instead of making us feel for it.’ Dominic Maxwell of the Times (3★) gave this advice: ‘You may not surrender entirely to the fiction, but you’ll have plenty to talk about afterwards.’
Critics’ Average Rating 3.4★
Alma Mater is at the Almeida until 20 July 2024. Buy tickets direct from almeida.co.uk
If you’ve seen Alam Mater at the Almeida Theatre, please add your review and rating below
Catherine Ashdown and Kadiesha Belgrave in Grud. Photo: Alex Brenner
Sarah Power‘s second play sees a teenage woman balancing home life with an alcoholic father and sixth form with a new friend. Jaz Woodcock-Stewart directs. Not many critics took the journey to Hampstead but those that did enjoyed it.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
Chris Wiegand in The Guardian (3) called it an ‘emotionally acute drama’ but said it ‘would benefit from a stronger arc and a more richly detailed social backdrop’.
Katie Kirkpatrick at Broadway World (3) commented, ‘Power’s writing demonstrates a knack for realistic dialogue and humour, as well as compelling interpersonal dynamics. The issue with this particular project is that it fails to say anything new.’
Dave Fargnoli at The Stage (3) found ‘the play is lifted by the deep empathy, touching tenderness and charmingly offbeat humour’. Helen Hawkins for The Arts Desk (3) called it ‘an oddly refreshing evening’.
Olivia Washington and Kit Harington in Slave Play. Photo: Helen Murray
Jeremy O. Harris’ Broadway success arrives with a much-publicised warning: “Is London Ready for Slave Play?” Despite the use of sex as a way of exploring race and the legacy of slavery, it would seem from the reviews that the answer is ‘yes’. Although there are many references to the shocking content (including a naked Kit Harington), the critics themselves seem unshocked. While acknowledging flaws in the underwritten characters or overwritten satire, they generally praised this confrontational drama. The cast impressed them too, particularly Olivia Washington and Mr Harington. But the applause was not universal, as the two 2-star reviews show.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
Sarah Hemming in the Financial Times (4) said it was a ‘rollercoaster of emotions that this blistering, painful and provocative drama involves’ She described ‘A tough, troubling, revealing play: proof again that the stage has become an excellent place to grapple, collectively, with our fraught and freighted times and to help us listen better to our own responses.’ Alice Saville in The Independent (4) found the play ‘multi-layered and deft’, saying, ‘Harris’s play is full of a sharp satirical intelligence’.
Isaac Ouro-Gnao writing for LondonTheatre (4★) told us the play ‘grabs you by the scruff of the neck and refuses to let go for two uninterrupted hours.’ He praised ‘incredible performances from the whole cast’. He had one reservation, namely the final scene, which is ‘distasteful and gratuitously violent, sullying an overall brilliant production.’ Time Out’s Andrzej Lukowski (4★) took the opposite view, ‘In the end I felt ‘Slave Play’ is really made by its dynamite final scene…Intimate, tender, brave, repellant and gut wrenching’.
Nick Curtis in the Standard (4★) called it ‘challenging in the best way. It uses sex and therapy as metaphors for society’s wider inability to talk honestly about race and touches on the desensitisation of modern life.’ He said, ‘Harris’s ear for dialogue, and his ability to stoke tension and wrong-foot the audience are terrific. He’s not so hot on character.’ Sam Marlowe in The Stage (4★) found, ‘it is grotesquely funny and extremely disturbing, stunningly visceral yet punishingly verbose, brilliantly clever but at times dramatically frustrating.’ It ‘flings us between shock, hilarity and horror,’ she said. However, ‘the play feels overlong, and’ (agreeing with Nick Curtis above) ‘the sense of the characters as fully developed individuals is fitful’.
The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar (4) decided ‘the play is too clever for its own good, throwing the subject matter in the air without quite landing it, and is an intense experience, in spite of its romping humour and trotting pace.’ She concluded positively, ‘It might be flawed but it is charismatic, needling theatre. An event.’ Neil Norman in the Express (4★) was also ambivalent: ‘It’s funny, clever and undoubtedly challenging, though neither as outrageous nor profound as it would like to be.’
Dominic Cavendish in the Telegraph (3) was another with mixed feelings: ‘The mood tips between the satirical and the earnest; the dialogue oscillates between groping babble and blinding revelation.’ Ke Meng at Theatre Weekly (3★) was disappointed: ‘Unfortunately, rather than being genuinely provocative, Robert O’Hara’s direction steers the show in a more comedic and funny manner—even in the erotic scenes.’ She also found the acting ‘a bit hammed’. Susannah Clapp in The Observer (3★) thought it was a bit obvious: ‘The discussions are so laden, so evident, that they drag down the drama.’
Dominic Maxwell in The Times (2★) said, ‘it boasts some acute moments and fine performances…(yet it) comes across as the sort of ideas-led piece that would stimulate over an hour but has instead unwisely swollen to two hours.’ Tomiwa Owolade reviewing for the Sunday Times (2★) decided ‘it is not provocative or daring’ and thought most people ‘will find the play occasionally amusing, but mostly tedious.’
Alexander Cohen at Broadway World (2★) cautioned, ‘What it considers outrageous, here in London in 2024, doesn’t feel all that shocking’ before going on to describe some of the content in shocking detail. The play was, he said, ‘too obsessed with conceptual naval gazing to the extent that it forgets that its characters are human beings.’ (I assume that’s a typo unless the play really is looking at maritime activities.) He decided, ‘it’s a structureless whirlwind of serious and silly’.
Critics’ Average Rating 3.4★
Value rating 38 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price.)
Four Detroit workers’ lives are devastated by redundancy in Dominique Morriseau’s 2016 play. Matthew Xia directs a UK premiere that was generally liked by the critics.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
Sarah Hemming in The Financial Times (5★) described it as a ‘funny, humane, deeply moving drama’.
Over at The Stage (4★) Dave Fargnoli called it a ‘powerful and humane drama’. The Guardian‘s Arifa Akbar (4★) said ‘The production itself thrums with life’. Sarah Crompton at WhatsOnStage (4★) talked of ‘the power and compassion of its analysis of the weight that unfettered pursuit of profit puts on the lives of ordinary men and women.’
Nick Curtis in the Standard (4★) talked of ‘a beautifully-observed, well-made comedy drama about hardscrabble existence, and Matthew Xia directs a fine cast with laid-back assurance.’ Alexander Cohen at BroadwayWorld (4★) called it ‘a pummelling emotional workout’. Helen Hawkins writing The Arts Desk (4★) commented, ‘Matthew Xia’s intelligent direction gets the best from the text and this fine cast.’
Lindsay Johns writing for the Telegraph (4★) said the ‘muscular, edgy dialogue…is shot through with tenderness, warmth and psychological veracity’. John Cutler at The Reviews Hub (4★) noted, ‘Absent much of a storyline, the piece works most effectively as a nuanced and finely crafted look at the dynamics of a found family, and at working class lives lived under the constant pressure of unwanted change.’
Dominic Maxwell in The Times (3★) said, ‘Skeleton Crew is full of bright exchanges about the characters’ grim forebodings. It’s a show that sets out to simmer more than come to the boil.’
Matt Wolf at London Theatre (3★) said, ‘even if Skeleton Crew sometimes dawdles when it might otherwise detonate, an exemplary cast foregrounds the need for dignity and compassion’.
Andrzej Lukowski in Time Out (assumed 3★) felt it compared unfavourably with the work of Lynn Nottage on similar themes but nevertheless ‘What Morriseau does extremely well is bring together four well-rounded characters (and) show their lives through the prism of work.’
Critics’ Average Rating 3.8★
Value rating 69 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price.)
Mia Kobayashi and Zheng Xi Yong in Your Lie in April. Photo: Craig Sugden
A Japanese manga comic which became anime TV series has reached London theatre as a musical. It’s the story of a traumatised young pianist and a love that may save him. Huge praise for the young stars, Zheng Xi Yong and Mia Kobayashi, is offset by disappointment, mockery even, for many other aspects of the production The American music by Frank Wildhorn received a mixed reception. Reviews are trickling in slowly so do come back for an update.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
Gary Naylor in Broadway World (5★) offered this advice (which plenty of reviewers didn’t take): ‘Fold your arms and harumph and you’ll miss the point; get dizzy recalling that first flush of adolescent desire and the agony of its not being reciprocated, and you’re in.’ He thought ‘the songs are plenty good enough to stand on their own two feet.’ He declared, ‘Mia Kobayashi…radiates superstar power.’
For Marianka Swain at LondonTheatre (4★) it ‘has a knocks-you-flat emotional force that you cannot resist. It will absolutely make you cry.’ The songs were key for her: ‘Each one of these sensationally catchy pop-rock anthems has a disarming sincere directness‘. It was, she concluded, an ‘impassioned, uplifting and deeply moving musical’
The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar (3★) listed all reasons she didn’t like it. The book? ‘full of cheesy cliches.’ The characters? ‘Americanised and schematic.’ The plot? ‘overdramatic, underexplained’. The design? ‘mystifying, with a thrown-together look.’ Fortunately, ‘the songs, along with spirited performances, become the show’s saving grace.’ Paul Vale for The Stage (3★) also liked the music: ‘this is Wildhorn’s best score of recent years, capturing both the spirit of manga and the power of music to restore the soul.’
Dzifa Benson writing for the Telegraph (3★) had a negative view of the music ‘let down by Frank Wildhorn’s generic show-tunes,’ but thought ‘All the performances…are spot on’.
‘Buyer beware,’ said Dominic Maxwell in The Times (3★), ‘it’s a cheesefest from start to finish. What can I say, though? Sometimes a platter of cheese is just what you fancy.’
The ‘show is overpowered by the crashing clichés of its story and the clunky Americanisms of Rinne B Groff’s English version,’ said Tom Wicker reviewing for Time Out (3★ assumed). He pointed out, ‘you’re in trouble with a musical when the songs are straining so hard to be inspirational that a plot-device bike ride gets as rousing an anthem as a character’s death.’
Nick Curtis in The Standard (2★) hated it, and he didn’t pull his punches: ‘this emotionally overwrought Japanese musical…strikes me as absurd…it’s glib, mawkish and riddled with clichés.’ As for the music, ‘Frank Wildhorn’s score is dominated by gushy, eyes-aloft, mouth-agape anthems’. Here’s his knockout blow: ‘Anger, grief and anxiety are turned up to 11 for the most OTT songs before the tone slips back to the gurgling, simpering comedy of a teen sitcom.’
Critics’ Average Rating 3.3★
Value rating 44 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price.)
Your Lie in April can be seen at the Harold Pinter Theatre until 21 September 2024. Buy tickets directly from yourlieinapril.co.uk
If you’ve seen Your Lie in April at the Harold Pinter, please add your review and rating below
Theatre de Complicite’s Mnemonic at the National Theatre. Photo: Johan Persson
First performed in 1999, Complicité’s legendary experimental work Mnemonic has been revived, with some updating. The stories of a woman searching across Europe and the discovery of a 5000-year-old man preserved in ice are the main strands in an exploration of memory, human migration and identity. It is directed by Simon McBurney, Complicité’s founder and Artistic Director. A high number of five and four star reviews for its dazzling theatricality were offset slightly by those from critics who thought it seemed old hat.
[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]
Sarah Hemming writing for the Financial Times (5★) proclaimed it as ‘a profound celebration of the nature of theatre: the collective act of imagination that allows us to collaborate in bringing the past to life…witty, elusive, intensely beautiful and humane.’ Dave Fargnoli in The Stage (5★) ‘Sequences blend fluidly together, with echoing dialogue and recurring gestures carrying through from one scene to the next, creating an aural and visual collage of overlapping content. Understated yet precise physical work offers striking imagery, while plenty of humour keeps the energy up’.
Time Out’s Andrzej Lukowski (5★) talked of ‘brain melting experimental odysseys that’ll rewire your cerebellum’ ‘it builds into something luminous and huge and almost beyond comprehension. Its last few minutes feel like staring overwhelmed at the secrets of creation.’ Dominic Maxwell at The Times (5★) was also bowled over: ‘Scenes, lines and set pieces slip into one another with invigorating speed. Big ideas keep coming, but so do good jokes. No time to get bored.’ He ended with this recommendation, ‘So, still a masterpiece. If you love theatre, see it. If you don’t love theatre, it might just change your mind.’
The Standard’s Nick Curtis (4★) discovered ‘a teeming, fecund representation of McBurney’s ability to make giant associative leaps while drilling down into what makes us human. It’s beautifully performed’. Alex Wood at WhatsOnStage (4★) said the show ‘has a vast, continental sweep that makes it an enthralling proposition for the audience.’ It made an impression too on Nick Ferris at the Telegraph (4★): ‘this remains unique experimental theatre, which will linger in the mind long after its conclusion.’
The Observer’s (3 ★) Susannah Clapp compared this production with the original. She said, ‘the qualities with which Complicité has for ever altered the stage are apparent throughout’ However, ‘this reincarnation is more deliberate, more didactic, more confusing than the original.’
The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar (3 ★) felt shortchanged: ‘with all these exquisite parts, the production does not quite deliver on a promise of profundity in tying them together’. She commented, ‘the show does not feel as much of a revolution of ideas and stagecraft as it did in 1999’. Fiona Mountford at i-news (3 ★) made the same point: ‘what previously appeared so ground-breaking has lost a little of its novelty and lustre since’.
Alexander Cohen at Broadway World (2★) was more blunt: ‘Perhaps in 1999 its dreamlike dizziness was revolutionary. In 2024 it feels too predictable to truly dazzle.’
Critics’ Average Rating 4.0★
Value rating 81 (Value rating is the Average Critic Rating divided by the typical ticket price.)
