...the action sometimes feels as hurried as the characters...Yet there's also a touching sensitivity to how Niamh Cusack both recalls and narrates their story...'
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Niamh Cusack and Catherine McCormack perform the central roles with magnetic force in this frenetically comic adaptation...Ferrante’s...list of characters is further complicated by a doubling that leads to a few baffling interpretations.'
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A lively, generous tale of femininity and violence... Having zipped along with such spirit and verve, the production fizzles out just a little in its final part.'
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...gloriously widescreen, five-hour, two-part adaptation ...ultimately it’s about two towering performances, one delicate and nuanced, one dense and dark as a neutron star.'
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Ultimately, despite some grumbles...this is a production which should delight the books’ many fans and serve as a fine introduction to the richly conceived, unforcedly feminist world of Ferrante.'
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Elena Ferrante's story makes a triumphant transition to stage...a richly textured, two-part piece of theatre exploring a complex female friendship... I actually didn’t want this show to end.'
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Director Melly Still and designer Soutra Gilmour stage all this with some flair. This is a production full of lovely, imaginative touches... I admired the fluency of the staging but wondered at its purpose.'
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...for all the hours we spend in their company most of the clans and supporting characters never seem much more than ciphers. We do get a flavour of a city that is beguiling and brutal, but that’s not enough.'
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