We had really enjoyed our Friday evening trip to the Bush Theatre the night before, but this play at the Hampstead left us cold.
At that time, we were having a shocking run at the Hampstead – so much so that we started to lose faith in the place – revived of course when the Edward Hall era turned the place around.
The critics were harsh on the play and the place:
- this piece by John Morrison in the Guardian suggests a Hampstead coup – parodying the subject matter of the play – the attempted coup against Mikhail Gorbachev;
- Lynn Gardner’s actual review in the same paper gave a rare one star – here;
- Howard Loxton in the British Theatre Guide was a little kinder, not much – here;
- Dominic Cavendish in the Telegraph didn’t like it either – here;
- The Ham and High praises the casting of genuine couple Julian Glover and Isla Blair as the famous Russian couple – here;
- Ian Shuttleworth concurs – the problem is the play not the cast – here.
We stuck it out, if I remember correctly, hoping for a more interesting second half. Marginally more interesting but in truth the play really was a lemon.
