Player Kings Reviews

John from London, England

CURATES EGG

Player Kings had some fine moments but with a set that restricted the view from the upper circle along with some weak directorial decisions took away from McKellen's performance. Editing and direction of part 2 disappointing and Hal's dismissal of Falstaff at the end lost all poignancy.

Lindsay from Leyland, Lancashire

MORE PANTO THAN SHAKESPEARE

Excellent acting and effective staging. However, it is very much a McKellen vehicle, and he hams it up like panto . What Shakespeare has to say in these plays about honour and father/son relationships is not examined in any meaningful way. There is no sense of pathos as Falstaff is banished at the end. I've recently seen Richard, My Richard which was a far more moving and thought-provoking production.

Bill from Manchester. England

PLAYER KING - CURATE’S EGG

We were at the same performance as Jane from Manchester and I’m not sure we watched the same production. The play was far too long, repetitive and the setting in modern dress did not make sense. The attempts at writing dialogue that Shakespeare would have been proud of misfired. Falstaff is a minor character and yet his role was blown out of proportion. Sir Ian McKellern was, as expected, superb in the role but generally the acting was patchy. Notwithstanding what Jane says, the conversations amongst the audience leaving at the end with us accorded very much with our viewsz

Stve S from Manchester, England

AVERAGE PLAYER KING

Trying not to be over critical as my first live Shakespeare so just a few observations.... Enjoyable and one of the bucket list..... BUT is the venue to large Sound quality very in and out is that technical or a mixture of strong or weak delivery.... There are a few edge of seat moments but on the other hand some uninspiring sections. In conclusion we all view things differently and that's good would I revisit The bard absolutely!!!

Andrew from Manchester, England

FIRST HALF SUBLIME ,SECOND HALF FLAT AND SPRAWLING

We loved the first half. Energetic, immersive, fun, superb acting and not just Ian McKellan. Hal was fantastic to pick one other. But the second part found a huge change in energy to the point where it was just dull. This was the play's fault I think, not the cast.

Richard from Manchester, England

WAY TOO LONG

I thought the actors involved were all excellent and performed their roles incredibly well. I thought the modern take was also good, with the initial bar scene being good fun, but in terms of modern and shock factor, it peaked at that point, 5 minutes in. Some scenes seemed a bit contrived and pointless, the orchard scene stood out for this and just felt it lost its way at times. If you were not aware of the play previously then you would have no idea what was going on. The main issue though, was that it was too flipping long. After about three hours you were willing it to end and charge to the exit for air. There was a partial standing ovation at the end, but most had lost the feeling in their legs by that point.

Sue from Leeds

SECOND HALF HURTS THE FIRST

Just seen in Manchester. The first half was good but the second half felt meandering. Truly excellent performances from all.

Page:12345All