On paper, this appeared to be a seriously hot ticket. So seriously hot we booked to see the first Friday preview. Antony Sher wrote it, Greg Doran directed it, Roger Allam starred in it…
…what’s not to like?
Well, in truth we didn’t like it at all. The plot revolves around the Florentine story of Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo competing for the same sculpture commission. The play might have been fine art’s equivalent of Amadeus – I suspect that’s what Sher had in mind, but we found the piece laboured, pretentious and dull.
We didn’t stick around after the interval for the second half of the play.
The reviews were not so special:
- Michael Billington was underwhelmed in the Guardian – here;
- Sarah Hemming in the FT was in two minds – here;
- Similarly Matt Wolf in the NYT found it fascinating and frustrating in equal measure – here;
- Philip Fisher in British Theatre Guide liked the concept more than the play/production – here;
- Charles Spencer in the Telegraph absolutely hated it – here;
- The West End Whingers lasted no longer than we did – here.
