Warm reception for Cold War play

@sohoplace

The Chichester production of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, adapted by David Eldridge from John Le Carré’s novel and directed by Jeremy Herrin, transfers to London prior to a UK tour. Critics welcomed it despite many thinking it didn’t convey the depth of the original. Rory Keenan was praised in the lead role.

4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑

Andrzej Lukowski of Time Out enjoyed it for waht it was: ‘This is a slick and yes, maybe slightly MOR adaptation of Le Carre’s taut, brutal espionage yarn. But it’s a very good one, and Eldridge deftly crafts an intensely interior world, with us seeing the action unfold as much from within jaded spy protagonist Alec Leamas’s head as without.’

WhatsOnStage’s Sarah Crompton noted: ‘one of the many strengths of David Eldridge’s fluent adaptation for the stage … is that it emphasises the way in which this period piece is also a piercing play for today. It’s a serious and sobering examination of the shoddy accommodations of real politick, and their effect on the human heart.’

The Standard’s Nick Curtis called it ‘a propulsive, streamlined and reassuringly old-fashioned staging’. The Independent‘s Alice Saville called it ‘a lean, pacy adaptation’. She remarked: ‘Rory Keenan brings a rougher, more careworn energy to this story’s conflict-scarred star spy, Alec Leamas.’

Chris Dorrell for CityAM got over excited: ‘The production had everything you’d want from a spy thriller: great coats, a lonesome trumpet soundtrack, and enough drink-dropping twists to leave the person in front of you soaking (sorry).’

3 stars ⭑⭑⭑

Theo Bosanquet at LondonTheatre found: ‘a lot of the action is overly static, stilted by the understandably exposition-heavy dialogue, which lends it a radio play feel at times.’ However: ‘There is much to enjoy, particularly for Le Carré aficionados, and it’s a noble effort to show that his densely detailed novels are stageable. But those unfamiliar with the source material may feel somewhat left out in the cold.’

Clementine Scott for BroadwayWorld concluded: ‘This has still been a tale exhilaratingly told, and if it fails it fails for being too inventive in developing Smiley’s character, rather than not inventive enough. Leamas’s interiority is an issue for adaptations of this novel that needs puzzling out, but the solution is not just to have another character drily explaining his motivations.’

Claire Allfree for the Telegraph was disappointed: ‘Le Carré’s novel is a shocking slice of spiritual nihilism in which everyone is ultimately damned. At times, Eldridge’s play feels suspiciously more like a romantic melodrama.’

The Times’ Clive Davis was concerned that: ‘While Rory Keenan is thoroughly convincing as the cynical, dishevelled intelligence officer Alec Leamas, Jeremy Herrin’s … production… risks falling between two stools. Le Carré fans will, I suspect, find themselves hankering after the book’s intricately layered study of secret service ethics; newcomers, on the other hand, may well be left confused by the breathless twists in the narrative.’

For Aleks Sierz at The Arts Desk, particularly in the first act: ‘things happen very fast, and atmosphere is sacrificed to speed of storytelling – which dilutes the noir in this noirish thriller.’

Critics’ average rating 3.6⭑