Hugh charms the critics

Aldwych Theatre

They may or may not have liked the play but the critics were charmed by Hugh Bonneville’s ‘shrewdly understated’ (Times) performance in the role of the emotionally repressed C S Lewis. In William Nicholson’s biographical play, Lewis’s Christian beliefs are challenged when he falls in love with a divorced American woman, then has to cope with her terminal illness. Some critics felt the play was superficial and ‘rose-tinted’ (Stage), but others were profoundly moved by the ‘potent’ (Telegraph) portrayal of grief. Maggie Siff was praised for her robust performance as Joy. The critics were generally impressed by Peter McKintosh’s set design in which a wall of bookshelves symbolises the stifling world of academia but also opens into a Narnia-like paradise. This production, directed by Rachel Kavanagh, was first seen at Chichester in 2019.

4 stars ★★★★

The Telegraph’s Dominic Cavendish wrote a moving review: ‘it could all veer into a superficial, episodic résumé. Yet Rachel Kavanaugh’s stylish production lends the story the vital, unifying aura of a restless, soulful quest.’ He found ‘All (the) genteel restraint means that when Bonneville’s placid, unassuming demeanour breaks into a howl of distress, or his gauche stiffness yields to a kneeling marriage proposal at Joy’s hospital bed, the effect is one of emotional detonation.’ He was touched by Bonneville, who, he said, ‘gives a commendably un-egotistical performance that provides a potent conduit for our own experiences of deep personal loss.’

The Times’ Clive Davis also praised the star: ‘Bonneville certainly deserved the acclaim he received at the end of the evening: this was a shrewdly understated performance that hinted at the turmoil stirring inside a public figure struggling to reconcile his own beliefs with the catastrophe that has set his private life.’ The set design made its contribution: ‘Every now and then, the walls of books slide away to reveal a wintry, Narnia-ish domain. Howard Harrison’s shifting lighting always seems to remind us that the line separating the here and now from eternity is a thin one.’

The i’s Fiona Mountford decided it was a test of true love: ‘On this Valentine’s weekend, I have concocted a failsafe test for a potential love interest: does this person snuffle quiet tears at the end of Shadowlands? Are they profoundly moved by the line ‘The pain now is part of the happiness then. That’s the deal’? If the answers are ‘no’, run a mile, as this person lacks any evidence of a beating heart.’

3 stars ★★★

Holly O’Mahony for The Stage criticised it for being ‘rose-tinted’: ‘while it’s witty, there’s something insincere about Nicholson’s script – polite and polished for palatability, it’s the version of events that you might tell ageing relatives (…) it all lacks punch; but it’s a heart-warming watch.’

Anya Ryan at LondonTheatre complained: ‘(Lewis’s) moral and spiritual dilemma is largely glossed over.’ But she did like the star: ‘Bonneville begins with a stiff-upper-lip Englishness…But, with Joy’s encouragement, he opens up piece by piece; his final wail is utterly devastating.’ She also praised the set design: ‘Nodding to Narnia, Peter McKintosh’s staging reveals a hidden, magical world from behind a bookcase. It suggests that beyond the shadows of life, there is something beautiful waiting.’

WhatsOnStage’s Sarah Crompton liked the show as far as it went, which was not far enough: ‘Nicolson’s play…is expertly directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, who firmly emphasises the humour and incongruity of this passion between a celibate English don and a straight-talking American poet…But she cannot disguise the way it skates along the surface of multiple moral dilemmas.’ Fortunately, ‘Bonneville is an actor who can tease feeling and nuance out of the most straightforward script. He’s wonderful as Lewis, awkward and endearing, but also catching the man’s self-righteousness stuffiness… The moments towards the close, when he is suddenly overwhelmed by feeling are deeply affecting.’

In a literally holier-than-thou comment, The Independent’s Alice Saville said: ‘There are audiences who’ll lap it all up as an emotive alternative to a church sermon, but they deserve better. Real life is much more complicated than the fridge magnet quote-worthy moralising that fills this play’s later scenes, and an author with the imaginative power to turn God into a friendly lion would have understood that.’

Aliya Al-Hussan of BroadwayWorld described the play as ‘Plodding in parts, but ultimately devastating’ but joined the Hugh Bonneville hugfest: ‘Bonneville is amiable, believable and gently formal as Lewis. His presence feels like a comfortable pair of shoes; familiar and unchallenging, but as the character submits to the waves of grief after Joy dies, Bonneville is touchingly bereft.’ She also praised Maggie Siff, saying she ‘never slips into the caricature of a loud and overly positive American and her sharp-tongued ripostes to the mysogynist views of Lewis’s academic circle are perfectly delivered.’

TimeOut’s Andrzej Lukowski thought it was one for Hugh’s stans (super fans): ‘None of it serves to quicken the pulse, really: it’s high class MOR, a chaste romantic fantasy that plays great with the Bonneville stans but is lacking a layer of depth. Still, even if I couldn’t exactly believe in the couple, I could still root for them.’

2 stars ★★

The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar put the boot in: ‘It has charm and pulls you into its sadness but seems as creaky as the half-filled, wood-panelled library in its backdrop…plods from one scene to the next, sleepy in pace and action but breezy in its emotions’. As for the star: ‘Bonneville is a lovely presence, as always’ but ‘he lacks the hard, anguished depths that show Lewis’s stunting shyness and repression.’ She felt ‘Siff is excellent as Joy, bringing sharp edges and ardour but the chemistry between them is just too fond and gentle.’

Critics’ average rating 3.2★

Value Rating 34 (Value Rating is a combination of the show rating and the typical ticket price)

Shadowlands can be seen at the Aldwych Theatre until 9 May 2026. Buy tickets directly from shadowlandsplay.com

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