MAYER WAKEFIELD is entertained but let down by an audacious production that, sadly, doesn't ring true
The Dance of Death
Arcola
AUGUST STRINDBERG’S hugely influential play The Dance of Death, in a new version by Oscar-winning writer Rebecca Lenkiewicz (for Best Foreign Language Film Ida, co-written with Paweł Pawlikowski) is a thrilling proposition at the Arcola. And when you add the intelligent, star-performance skills of the luminous Lindsay Duncan to the mix – not to mention the commanding confidence of acclaimed director Mehmet Ergen – you would expect a night to remember from this highly anticipated run.
So why the disappointment?
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by drama that, despite accomplished performances, cannot overcome an unfocused script
MARY CONWAY keeps up with the sheer pace of a drama about the terrible gap between sanitised reporting and real-life turmoil of race and gender
MARY CONWAY applauds the timely revival of Miller’s study of people fatally deformed by the economics of survival
Although this production was in rehearsal before the playwright’s death, it allows us to pay homage to his life, suggests MARY CONWAY


