Back from a mini tour of Yorkshire and Stockport and cheering for supporting act Indignation Meeting
A cerebral play, broaching questions that never quite land
MARY CONWAY tries her best to work out ‘what the hell is going on’ as style triumphs over substance
forest
ALISTAR FINDLAY is mesmerised by this multiple ‘Visions of Scotland’ assault on the audience’s eyes and senses
The Star's critics ANGUS REID, ANDY HEDGECOCK and MICHAL BONCZA reviews I Am Love, The Penguin Lessons, Freaky Tales, The Thicket
MAYER WAKEFIELD has reservations about the direction of a play centered on a DVLA re-training session for three British-Pakistani motorists
New releases from Steve Knightley, Jupiter & Okwess, Jason Palmer, Lisa Knapp and Gerry Driver, Kin'Gongolo Kiniata, Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey, Dan Sealey, Simin Tande, PAZ
JOHN GREEN relishes photography that unfolds a longstanding and poetic relationship with Leeds
A uncomfortably misogynistic authorial voice that sometimes seems to lack insight troubles FIONA O’CONNOR
The Forest
Hampstead Theatre
PLAYWRIGHT Florian Zeller finds himself in a charmed position by anyone’s standards, his play The Father having achieved almost iconic status and the film version having won best actor Oscar for Anthony Hopkins. Following this and the other two plays in his family trilogy, Zeller we must believe can do no wrong.
So it feels like a fait accompli that his new play The Forest – in its customary translation by heavyweight Christopher Hampton – will gather accolades galore for its premiere at Hampstead Theatre.
The play – as with Zeller’s earlier work – is based on a single idea in which style and structure ultimately triumph over substance. And the prime fascination for the audience is the absorbing task of working out what the hell is going on.
More from this author
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a production that panders – if inadvertently – to Western prejudice against China
MARY CONWAY recommends a beautifully judged performance that shines a light on the experience of all female war babies and boomers
A nervous year, showing that the theatre, like the world, stands on a precipice and seems uncertain where to jump
MARY CONWAY applauds a worthy revival of the US 1939 classic drama that studies the dehumanising consequences of affluence
