Strangers On A Train Reviews

Kevin from London,

EXCELLENT SHOW

Ignore the bad reviews, this play has an excellent cast and is a riveting show. I enjoyed Strangers On A Train immensely , the cast gave excellent performances , they were engaging and had me from the opening moment to the last.

Mike Ree from London,

BEST PLAY FOR A LONG TIME!!

Attended the matinee this afternoon and we both really enjoyed the whole performance. Great acting props etc. Would completely agree with the other 5 star reviewers - Brilliant!

Jade & Priy from London,

STUNNINGLY GRIPPING PRODUCTION!

The play was absolutely brilliant. A thrilling plot which was suspenseful and had a great dynamic; enticing the audience. The professional and talented cast portrayed powerful emotions, leaving us shocked and empathetic towards to the characters. Despite it being the first ever preview show, it was a well played out production. The revolving stage allowed for different settings and was very clever. Laurence Fox and Jack Huston who played the two main characters upheld a strong chemistry throughout which showed them to be very believable characters. Overall, the play was wonderful and we can't wait to see it again. We will definitely be recommending it.

James Francis from London,

IGNORE THE BAD REVIEWS. THIS SHOW IS GREAT.

Ignore the reviews below, this show was brilliant. Unlike an in your face musical or over the top pantomime you have to let yourself immerse in the show and credit must go to the main actor Jack Huston who's performance was simply outstanding. The scenery was incredible.. changing so quickly with just one rotation of the set and yes there may have been a bit of banging but as the show is only two performances in you must have a little lee-way for the cast and crew. We loved it and walked away in awe at what we have just seen. Think Woman in Black plus a little more. It's great, it really is.

Maz Helvellyn from West Country

I THOUGHT MURDER WAS AGAINST THE LAW

In the case of this play its pretty addictive, raw, dark viewing.Saw this Sat 30th Nov and am still coming out the other side of the emotional wringer. Set was magnificent, capturing both the sense of impending menace and psychological hopelessness as well as the era. Acting was top class, character portrayals entirely believable and appropriate. I could hear very word and sense every twinge of emotional turmoil from the male leads. Congratulations to the cast and crew. Have already made a return booking.

Margaret from Lancashire

EXCELLENT PRODUCTION

A gripping thriller with excellent actors and impressive stage sets. Altogether a very enjoyable evening. Would definitely recommend. I was in the stalls (row D) where I could see and hear perfectly.

Helen from Hertordshire

BRILLIANT SHOW

Saw this today! Mr Fox was not available but his understudy did an amazing job. Thoroughly enjoyed it, hghly recommend you go.

John Worsley from London

WELL I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!

I've read all of the reviews about this play that I can find, including on this site and I'm wondering if I was watching a different play or had unknowingly taken some hallucinogens! If there were problems about wooden acting or "noises off", they have been sorted well and truly. I found the revolving set quite amazing (we were sat in Box C right next to the stage and couldn't hear a sound from the spectacularly efficient set changes). Laurence Fox was convincing as the geeky character and Jack Huston brilliant as the odious playboy. In fact, I couldn't find anything I didn't enjoy about it and would love to watch it again. And no - I'm not related to anyone involved! I highly recommend this production. PS The staff are really friendly too and it's a truly beautiful theatre.

HML, Bucks from Buckinghamshire, UK

GREAT PLAY

We went to this production last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. We sat on Row T but could hear everything very clearly and had a great view of the whole stage. Did not hear any background noise from set changes. All performers were brilliant.

Sue smith from London,

FANTASTIC

The cast were superb. This is a must see. Worth a standing ovation.

Robert & Mary from Cheshire

A MUST SEE PRODUCTION

We saw this play on Wednesday 4 Dec and thought it was fantastic. The acting was excellent and the stage sets and changes kept the story buzzing. We would heartily recommend this play to anyone.

Dave L from Uxbridge, West London,

AN EXCELLENT PRODUCTION

If you don't know the storyline in advance then this is an excellent show with a fascinating plot, well-played by the cast and with an ever-changing set that carries the play forwards at a good pace. The two main roles are played convincingly throughout, with strong performances from the other characters. The acoustics of the theatre unfortunately weren't great, and if the Director is reading this then raising the volume of microphones would earn this five stars from me as some of the dialogue was lost, especially when the actors were facing downstage. We were sat in Stalls Row K which had a good view of the stage.

Ann Voce from Nottingham, England

VERY ENJOYABLE, CLEVER PRODUCTION

Perhaps I was lucky in being on row C, but I have nothing but praise for this excellent production. We could hear every word spoken, and yet we couldn't hear a sound from backstage where the crew did a magnificent job of changing scenery on the constantly revolving stage at lightning speed. Laurence Fox's rather subdued and measured performance at times was entirely appropriate for the hapless, helpless Guy, whilst Jack Huston's insane villain was a riveting watch. Clever effects and staging, with some terrific acting from the whole company - loved it!

Mobie from London,

REALLY GOOD -

I went to see the play last night and it was really good. Very good acting from all involved in the show and the staging was excellent. I recommend you see it - a very good production of a very good play.

Yuriko from Tokyo

MUST SEE THIS !!

I have seen twice last week during my 10 days stay in London from Tokyo, Japan. The theater was excellent with revolving floor and ALL the actors are confident and passionate about play. It was totally worth my money! Laurence Fox and Jack Huston are BEST !

Oli & Abi Dennington-Price from Norwich, Norfolk (UK!)

FIRST CLASS PLAY

We came to the 18th January Matinee Show, and it was superb: the acting; the costumes; the set; the scene/set changes; indeed everything. If there have been negative reviews we suggest you ignore them. Thank you for a fantastic afternoon's entertainment.

Chris from London,

ATMOSPHERIC

Very clever production. Loved Jack Huston. Bit disappointed with Lawrence Fox as couldn't always hear him.

Chris from London,

ATMOSPHERIC

Very clever production. Loved Jack Huston. Bit disappointed with Lawrence Fox as couldn't always hear him.

Anne B from London,

A PSYCHOLOGICAL TOUR DE FORCE

A really gripping play, with a sense of underlying menace right from the first scene in the train carriage. Fabulous set and strong acting performances - a terrific night out

Lesley from London,

GREAT PLAY, LOVELY SETS, SOME BRILLIANT ACTING

We saw this play on Saturday 16th November. Cheapest seats, rows B and C, right at the front. We had not seen any reviews and only went to see it on spec... but we all thoroughly enjoyed this play. The scenery is brilliant, I loved the black/white colour theme, and we heard no noise from backstage - the negative reviews have obviously sorted that one. For me, the outstanding performance was by Jack Huston. His character as a damaged and unhinged little rich boy was mesmerising and he pulled it off beautifully. Being right at the front, we had no problems hearing words - so, get the cheap seats, row C, like we did and you won't be disappointed!

Mark from London,

MY MOTHER WARNED ME NOT TO TALK TO STRANGERS

Well done to the crew, the unsung heroes in the dark who did a wonderful job transporting the scenes at such a quick pace. They worked really hard and the results of their labour was fab. Mr Fox please project, this is not tv dear. Jack Huston we could hear and he played his part well, as did the chap playing the minder turn private eye. Thought the ending was lame, I was like it that it? Has it finished? Again the effects were good but the build up got somewhat lost along the way. Having said that, go see and enjoy a great tale, always good to see drama in the West end.

Saguna from London,

IT WAS OK

I didn't know what to expect as I hadn't read any reviews and didn't know much about the play. Although all the actors had terrible fake American accents the use of the stage was very clever. It carouseled around to reveal various scenes which was really clever. The seats I got were high up but I could still see the stage quite clearly as it's a small theatre but opulent nonetheless, and to my advantage I could enjoy watching people backstage in the dark frantically trying to set up the next scene as quietly as possible. The actual show was very unique. The first half was quite slow and dragged on a bit to be honest. It wasn't a show stopper but you can't really complain for £11! The second half is where it gets interesting and all the twists come into play (no pun intended! lol). I liked that you would never guess the ending and it got quite dramatic. You see how everything slowly comes apart from a seemingly well hatched out plan. There is a very strange relationship between one man

Miranda from London,

UNFORTUNATELY...

I know these review boards tend to only get the negative but I will give praise where it is due. Unfortunately Laurence Fox would have to be singled out as we could not hear him (only in our 40's) along with others in the audience, through most of the show, other than when he shouted and then his diction was extremely poor- he is terrific in Lewis but not cut out for stage and did not embody the character at all. None of the cast or director have sat in row J and listened to the show through the loud constant buzz of the projector, of which projection adds very little to the show. The direction was poor to not at least solve the issue of projection of voices but the shortness of each scene allowed little scope to develop character, connection and emotion. The set was clever but we would have preferred excellent acting and an empty stage. A very disappointing evening- thank goodness it was a preview night and tickets were cheaper but I cannot see any improvement happening. One last thing which shouldn't have to be said but when all the cast took the curtain call 3 hours later, Laurence Fox walked off before the curtain had dropped and it really looked awful. Play partially saved by acting from Miranda Raison and Christian McKay

Gel Morson from London,

GELMOR

Excellent stage design, poor voice projection and character depth from male lead. Myanna Burning brought life to the dull, lifeless scenes. Disappointed. The production required a great deal more pathos in order to justify the ending.

PostScript 1 from Nottinghamshire

STRANGERS INDEED

I booked this play specifically to see Lawrence Fox. Unfortunately I was extremely disappointed to find 3 of the principle players ( including Fox) were replaced by their understudies. The play seemed confused as to whether it was supposed to be a comedy or a tense drama. It also seemed too long for the concept it was portraying. We had excellent seats N1 and 2 in the stalls. I was disappointed with the theatre management, despite advertising late comers would not be admitted, 20 minutes into the play people were still allowed in. Overall, a disappointed visit.

Pizzaman from London,

DISAPPOINTING

Very wooden acting from what I thought were professionals. Particularly disappointed as I was unable to hear the dialogue. more so when the characters had their backs to the audience. I, like quite a number of people complained of this in the interval, which seemed never ending, but nothing was done to sort out the problem. Laurence fox seemed to be still in the character of "Hathaway" the side kick detective in the "Lewis" TV series. His mannerisms were exactly the same. A major distraction was all the noise of scene changes back stage as the play went on and on and on. A big let down for something I was looking forward to

FMC from UK

RAN OUT OF STEAM

Profoundly disappointing, having looked forward for weeks to the production opening, I could scarcely believe what was offered, not being able to hear one of the prime characters words is, if not unforgivable certainly reprehensible, didn't anyone check this in advance from anywhere other than the front row of the stalls or did the poor man have a problem with his voice? Much of the acting would have put a seaside rep production to shame thirty years ago. More wooden than the timber sleepers on which the imagined train would run - I fear Dr Beeching would not have spared this! If there was any light in the tunnel it was the innovative special effects projected, but these often seemed to lack any cohesion with what else was happening on the stage and were marred by the constant whirring of the projectors fan. Had I brought an overseas visitor with me I would have been embarrassed as it was night to be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Alex from London,

WASTE OF TIME, MONEY AND EXPECTATION

From an actor's point of view, if I was playing the lead in London's West End in front of hundreds of paying customers, I would be two things: I'd be extremely happy to be there, therefore I'd work to give a performance worthy of such an opportunity, and I'd have to be bloody good at what I did to get there in the first place. Laurence Fox was neither. I saw a preview, but there is literally no excuse for the utterly uninterested, monotonous and disengaging performance that he gave. I know the Gielgud is pretty big, but come on, if you can't reach the circle with your voice then you shouldn't be on the stage. The set, though impressive, became a hindrance as the shifting, banging and talking from backstage became laughable. They've tried to create a film on-stage and all they've achieved is a lack of creativity, really. The script is dull: some things happen. That's it. The 'twists' are contrived and uninteresting. If they manage to turn this show around, I'd love to know how.

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