This one was a real disappointment to us.
We had absolutely loved That Face, Polly Stenham’s first play:
That Face, Polly Stenham, Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, 19 May 2007
We even quite liked Tusk Tusk, her second – although we felt she hadn’t really moved on, we allowed for that “awkward second piece” syndrome:
Tusk Tusk by Polly Stenham, Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, 28 March 2009
Now, after nearly four more years, her third, No Quarter. Here is the Royal Court resource for this piece.
Again an upper-middle class drawing room drama – even less promising than the second.
We were at a preview. There was Polly, socialising with her friends and relations, who were there to make sure that the preview was well received by the audience…
…it all seemed aa shame and a waste of talent to us. Perhaps Polly was honing her skills for a TV writing career that will be far more lucrative than the stage…and perhaps to that end she is succeeding.
Here is a link to a search term that finds the (mostly indifferent) reviews.
Indifference summed it up for us too. It was entertaining, there were good lines and vignettes in it. If this had been a young writer’s first play we would have oozed about a promising writer. But this piece was a waste of Polly Stenham’s talent and the talent on show with cast and crew too.
A pity.