“ ‘A Strange Loop’ concerns the idea that be it upward or downward, you progress through a series of hierarchical levels that are linked to one and other via some sort of relationship. You keep on accessing the levels until eventually you are back where you started.”
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" ‘A Strange Loop’ is different. It is an extremely Black, extremely queer, extremely horny, extremely New York show that is, to boot, extremely weird: a meta-musical about a theatre usher called Usher’s attempt to write a meta-musical about a theatre usher called Usher. "
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“What makes ’A Strange Loop’ so compelling... what cuts under its whirling cleverness, is the way it makes Usher’s suffering so intense. As it digs, it unlocks true sadness and alienation, so that the relative calm of the ending is almost a relief. It’s original and old-fashioned all at once.”
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"It’s stuffed with really catchy tunes full of triumphant melodies, with big high notes, snatches of literary and musical reference constantly winking at us. It’s messy and exhausting as much as it is spectacular. It’s too long, too repetitious, too much - and I’d watch it again in an instant."
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"Oddly for such a knowing, meta show, it really does fulfil Usher’s desire to show real life – to place you in his lived experience. The experimental zaniness, the candid content, and the taboo busting are all excitingly bold, but it’s that authenticity which ultimately makes the most impact."
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“So it’s an evening that goes round in circles. It knows that it is going around in circles. It tells you it is going round in circles. But finally I found this knowing sense of stasis more deadening than daring.”
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"It ends with a non-ending, breaking the rules of storytelling but without any sense of jarring or gimmickry. These circles within circles could just continue, we feel, after the curtain falls. A strange loop indeed."
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"Bold in its approach, it dares to break the mould and create something that may not always be the most comfortable of watches but is always captivating. For me personally, a couple of moments aside, I loved 'A Strange Loop' immeasurably...Whether you love it or hate it, you’re going to remember it – and that in itself makes it a success in my eyes."
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