“’A Mirror’ struggles to conjure the weight it wants to. An interesting story is shattered to bits by gimmicky meta-theatricality. If ’A Mirror’ looks into a mirror, it is only to naval gaze, not to tell its story...But sadly all ‘A Mirror’ can do is pose at being the real thing. For a theatrical dystopia, this is Orwell that doesn’t end well.”
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“Full length (two hours) gives Holcroft space to explore not only censorship, but auto-fiction, appropriation and propaganda...Jeremy Herrin’s typically meticulous production observes the crime fiction rules that, while a story can confuse or mislead, it should not wilfully withhold or falsify information.”
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“It’s a mordantly funny comedy about the essential moral vacuousness of censorship. And it’s dispatched with great wit in a puckish production from Jeremy Herrin – it’s safe to say the we’re-pretending-we’re-at-a-wedding conceit resurfaces - with an excellent cast.”
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“Rarely have I been simultaneously so thrilled and infuriated by a play. Sam Holcroft’s arch comedy about a playwright navigating an authoritarian regime is a beautifully crafted, mind-bending piece of work.”
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"This play is an achievement: like nothing else you’ll see on London’s stages, full of the kind of meta-theatrical self-awareness that’ll thrill the artsy in-crowd without alienating everyone else. And, if you’ll excuse the cliche, it’ll leave you with much to reflect on."
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“Sam Holcroft’s new play ‘A Mirror’ is bold, inventive and original. It is also annoying and a bit messy around the edges. I loved it, but felt I could not, admired it, yet was irritated by some of its qualities.”
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“Jeremy Herrin’s production grinds away in disorienting circles...With no interval to provide solace, you find yourself hoping for something to ignite. Which duly happens in the final ten minutes. But it really isn’t worth the wait.”
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“Holcroft’s witty satire is an exuberant experience if you surrender to its looping structure, which does pay off smartly in a big climactic reveal. Yet one of its internal debates – whether art should reflect messy reality or should be an inspiring or escapist experience – comes to apply to ’A Mirror.’ It’s so issue-led that it almost feels more like a staged essay than a drama.”
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