I’m a bit of a fan of Athol Fugard, but this one didn’t quite hit the spot the way many of his plays have done for me in the past. Daisy felt the same way.
It is a revival from 1975 – a selling point to me as I thought Fugard was writing brilliant stuff during that period.
A great line up too, with Jonathan Pryce in the lead role and Douglas Hodge having a go at directing…
…it just didn’t work for us.
As for the critics:
- Charles Spencer in the Telegraph loved it, describing it as a neglected classic – here;
- Whereas it seems our friend, Michael Billington, didn’t like it at all, forgiving Michael Grandage with the cricketing analogy “class is permanent, form is temporary”;
- Kate Bassett rubbished the play in The Independent, while simultaneously rubbishing “me mate” Jason Donovan’s Priscilla – here;
- Ian Shuttleworth in the FT found it obscure, but was “three stars” about it – here.
