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My 5 biggest theatre disappointments of 2017

Not everything is brilliant or lives up to expectations. These are the plays that disappointed me the most in 2017.

Obsession, Barbican Theatre

Ivo Van Hove had two plays in my best of list last year but Obsession, starring Jude Law, felt at times pedestrian and aloof where it should have been passionate and tense.

HamletAgainst, Almeida

While I always enjoy watching Ben Whishaw on stage the play itself was so disappointing. On reflection, in my review I think I was still trying to like it  but it was just so doughy, lacking any punch or defined focus.

Woyzeck, Old Vic

Was really excited to see John Boyega on stage but like Against, the play was a disappointment. You can see where it is going early on – there is a particular line which is like having a gun on stage – but it takes a long, long time to get there. It also felt like it was trying too hard to be shocking and edgy.

Nuclear War, Royal Court

I'm a huge fan of Simon Stephens but I wasn't a fan of this at all. It felt like an experiment that shouldn't have made it out of the rehearsal room. It was so abstract and difficult to make sense of its 45 minute running time felt too long.

Hamlet, RADA

Ah yes the Tom Hiddleston/Kenneth Branagh Hamlet I was so excited about this. Love Tom Hiddleston but I'm not a fan who sees everything he does through rose-tinted spectacles (Ben Whishaw/Against is a case in point) and this felt like a huge opportunity missed. It's a small, intimate space and the play was staged in the round with the stalls seating effectively 'on stage' but it seemed as if Kenneth Branagh had directed it for a huge West End theatre.  There was no subtlety, no surprises, no innovation and given that the last two Hamlet's I've watched have been among the best I've ever seen it was really disappointing. I'm still a little bit cross about it.

Related: My best of theatre list for 2017

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3 responses to “My 5 biggest theatre disappointments of 2017”

  1. Carolyn avatar
    Carolyn

    I agree about Against (I too love Ben & made the fatal error of in my excitement booking to see the play a few times. Hoping I may like it more I still went but I only liked it less.)
    So interesting that you disliked Nuclear War: it was up there with my very favourite plays of 2017! I sobbed through nearly the entire thing & adored it! I saw Fatherland (very good) & Heisenberg Uncertainty (wonderful) of Simon Stephens’ work this year too but Nuclear War was easily my favourite of his plays.
    I didn’t make any others you were disappointed in, but wanted to ask: did you catch Girl From the North Country? I’m curious what you thought if so. (I haven’t yet searched your reviews in case I missed it. Likely should have done that first! Ooops!)

    Reply
  2. Rev Stan avatar
    Rev Stan

    Hi Carolyn, thanks for commenting. I did the same with Against although I must admit that I did skip one performance. I’ve booked to see Julius Caesar twice – first time standing second time sitting.
    And with Nuclear War, I guess it just goes to show that we all have different tastes and bring something different when we sit down to watch. I’ve really liked something that not many others have liked before. It’s one of the reasons why I try not to read anything about a play before I see it because I have been put off seeing something that I might have actually enjoyed.
    To save you looking for the review, I didn’t see Girl From the North Country as it was a bit too musically for me.

    Reply
  3. Carolyn avatar
    Carolyn

    Yes, I returned an Against ticket as well. Comes to something when you’d rather risk losing the money than watch Ben on stage again, but sadly that’s how it was. Never mind.
    Yes, it’d be a boring world if our taste was all the same! And hee, I’m not a musical fan myself, but in my case it has nothing to do with the music – just that a fair amount of musicals have the general kind of storyline which I know is supposed to make you feel good, but even when I saw films of this nature as a tiny child, left me feeling empty and like there will never be any hope in the world again, haha! On the flip side, when something with music really connects with me, it’s probably my absolute favourite experience ever. There are so many shows though & nobody can see them all, so may as well miss the ones you already know don’t fit your taste I guess. :)

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