It's by no means an easy watch, but this entirely watchable production both surprises and illuminates a play that I've previously thought was impossible to actually enjoy.'
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David Hare brings modern madness to Ibsen's epic... Hare updates Ibsen’s 1867 dramatic poem with wit and ingenuity, resulting in a sharp satire on contemporary mores.'
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While David Hare’s satirical update...contains some witty lines and a magnetic central performance from James McArdle, for the most part it’s tedious and heavy-handed stuff. And long. Very long.'
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A mighty achievement – but with strings attached...in general, this show – sharply etched across the board by populous crack cast – is a mighty achievement and one of which the NT can be justly proud.'
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...for all the bonkers interludes...and McArdle’s brilliance, ‘Peter Gynt’ increasingly feels like a chore, and a smattering of good humour can’t conceal the play’s fundamental sour slogginess.'
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... it feels as though Hare hasn’t adequately re-purposed it for the 21st century, and, for all the resources Jonathan Kent’s three-hours plus production throws at it, a sense of aimlessness and even amateurishness takes hold.'
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You can admire the scope and the professionalism. But I feel we’ve spent too long already this year listening to men with a sense of entitlement and nothing to back it up.'
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Despite running at over three hours...this version is never boring... but it doesn't ever quite resolve the mad veering between fantasy and reality...McArdle [is] the main reason to see the play.'
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