Ruth Wilson, Michael Shannon & David Threlfall triumph 

Exciting director Rebecca Frecknall, having thrilled audiences with Cabaret, A Streetcar Named Desire and more, has turned her attention to Eugene O’Neill’s sequel to Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Some critics thought she could have done more to enliven a slow-moving three hour play, while others were mesmerised by her faithfulness to the unpeeling of layers of character.  All agreed on the high quality acting of Ruth Wilson, Michael Shannon and David Threlfall. The story concerns a 1920s farm, occupied by s father and daughter, which the owner proposes to sell  The daughter plans to seduce him in order to persuade him to change his mind. It’s a play full of self deception and revelation.

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

5 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

Claire Allfree for the Telegraph declared: ‘It’s three hours long, and barely anything happens, yet Rebecca Frecknall’s production… is utterly spellbinding. It also contains some of the finest acting you are likely to see on a stage this year.’ Heaping praise on the director, she said: ‘Increasingly, she comes across as one of our most radical directors, staging old-fashioned plays that reveal human truths through character rather than through ideological messaging. These great mid-century American dramas, with their compassionate emphasis on human frailty, could so easily feel out-of-step with our shriller, narcissistic modern moment – but Frecknall makes them speak anew.’

4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑

In The Stage, Dave Fargnoli began: ‘Breathing fresh life and painfully relatable emotion into Eugene O’Neill’s tender, tawdry tragedy of missed connections and unconsummated longing, this riveting revival seethes with unspoken subtext.’

Alice Saville of The Independent was moonstruck: ‘Rebecca Frecknall’s latest gorgeous resurrection of a mid-century American gem makes spotlights orbit round her cast on rollercoaster-style rails, capturing every shifting phase of their sub-lunar interactions. It’s utterly luminous.’ She highlighted: ‘Wilson’s brilliant performance has an inherent dignity that means that the misogyny of the men around her is diminished, shown for what it is. Misery never shone so bright.’

3 stars ⭑⭑⭑

In his Time Out review, Tim Bano praised the play and its director: ‘every line is a punch or a jab or a dagger…Frecknall handles it brilliantly: she knows how to let the humour ebb away, how to let the anguish build…(she) turns the tilth on a half-buried play, and digs up something extraordinary.’

The Times’ Clive Davis said: ‘Rebecca Frecknall’s typically poetic revival unites three remarkable actors in Ruth Wilson, Michael Shannon and David Threlfall. Watching them bring O’Neill’s dialogue to life compensates for all the moments when the play starts to turn in circles.’

Theo Bosanquet for WhatsOnStage had mixed feelings: ‘Although the bagginess of the play remains a sticking point, this is a valuable chance to see it delivered with dynamism and no small amount of humour from an ensemble of the very highest quality.’

Holly O’Mahony of LondonTheatre found Frecknall’s direction a mixed blessing: (She) ‘takes an almost painstaking amount of care to infuse meaning into every word, glance and touch here…(but) Clarity loses a foothold in the play’s dense scheming and knotty double-crossing, meaning revelations of trickery don’t always smack as hard as they might.’ Thank goodness for the stars: ‘Ruth Wilson, Michael Shannon and David Threllfall, each of whom delivers a performance worthy of their reputation…Wilson is luminous as Josie…her early teeth-baring and puffed-up bravado dissolves into a heart-wrenching puddle of insecurity and maternal longing’

Alexander Cohen at BroadwayWorld called it ‘A strong production subdued by the limitations of the play.’

2 stars ⭑⭑

The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar complained: ‘Frecknall has stepped back to let the play do the speaking but this faithfulness lays bare the datedness of the drama, which creaks with age at times. The production itself seems imbalanced too: glacial in pace, it stretches across three hours, not gathering enough intensity and chugging anti-climactically to its end.’

Critics’ average rating 3.7

A Moon For The Misbegotten is at The Almeida until 16 August 2025. Buy tickets from the theatre here.

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