Marber’s Habeas Corpus, initially intended for the season of work that was cancelled due to lockdown, turns out to be a hit-and-miss affair. You never doubt the guiding intelligence on view, but you’re equally aware of the many moments that don’t land.
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A farce without the revolving doors, there are flecks of saucy seaside postcard humour mixed with Restoration-style comedy...The bigger crime here is that it is all so tragically unfunny.
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Patrick Marber’s revival is handsomely cast and mounted, but it’s under-rehearsed and fails to hit the necessary pitch of earnest hysteria.
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So yes, dated as sin, but Bennett's text is a wordy trove of humorous giggles - even if some other sections might make you gag.
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All of this requires an almost deranged performing style that’s nevertheless anchored to a crispness of delivery and impeccable comic timing, which were not uniformly in play on opening night.
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