"Even comic exaggeration wears out its welcome if it isn’t anchored in some kind of truth. However, the script made some nods in that direction, like the running commentary on the subjugation of women as they protest for their right to vote...I loved the nod toward Victorian-era repression with the statement that a bride can die from the shock of physical contact with a man"
Read more

"There is lots to enjoy here; the constant silliness means there nothing serious in the show, but that is exactly the point."
Read more

"The comedy here is familiar, thin stuff, both exhausted and exhausting."
Read more

"Evans’ send-up of [Dickens’] classic… is so informed and quick-witted it doesn’t just fly the flag for intelligent parodies it salutes Dickens’ genius. English eccentricity at its madcap best."
Read more

" 'Bleak Expectations' could let itself off the leash more. Still, Evans knows how to turn running gags into plot elements and vice versa — whatever that anvil prop cost, it was worth it...I just couldn’t help wishing it had come a good half-hour sooner."
Read more

"The first act runs out of steam quite quickly, and while there are undeniable belly-laughs in the second half, there’s a feeling that this is a fringe skit, uncomfortably drawn out to West End proportions."
Read more

"[The play's] tropes ... get stretched to the point of translucence, and it all lacks a little cohesion. It’s like feasting on canapes – periodically delightful, but not exactly filling."
Read more

"Often very funny but showing signs of strain in its change of mediums, 'Bleak Expectations' still managed to provide an enjoyable evening at the theatre, and often had me thinking it was completely stupid – a compliment, with this kind of show."
Read more