I’ve only been to the Royal Court Theatre at Sloane Square twice. The first time was in August 2011 for The Village Bike. It was superb. Very funny, very well-acted, a super cast, a dynamic script, edgy, irreverent and humorously moving. It was modern theatre at its best. The second time was for Jumpy. What a contrast! Jumpy was middle-class English TV sitcom comedy at its worst. Labored, predictable and completely lacking any of the charm and freshness that was a feature of The Village Bike. Please Royal Court try to be consistent! I know that it must be very hard to fulfill your mission of introducing new playwrights who in some way bring a new dimension to theatre, but surely it is not that hard to reject something that would easily be accepted by a totally undemanding TV sitcom selection committee for whom the target audience definition is “easily pleased from Welwyn Garden City, out on the town once a month, otherwise happy with TV pap”. I really hope that The Village Bike was the rule and Jumpy the exception. If it is the other way around, I am very pessimistic about the future of British theatre.

I’ve only been to the Royal Court Theatre at Sloane Square twice. The first time was in August 2011 for The Village Bike. It was superb. Very funny, very well-acted, a super cast, a dynamic script, edgy, irreverent and humorously moving. It was modern theatre at its best. The second time was for Jumpy. What a contrast! Jumpy was middle-class English TV sitcom comedy at its worst. Labored, predictable and completely lacking any of the charm and freshness that was a feature of The Village Bike. Please Royal Court try to be consistent! I know that it must be very hard to fulfill your mission of introducing new playwrights who in some way bring a new dimension to theatre, but surely it is not that hard to reject something that would easily be accepted by a totally undemanding TV sitcom selection committee for whom the target audience definition is “easily pleased from Welwyn Garden City, out on the town once a month, otherwise happy with TV pap”. I really hope that The Village Bike was the rule and Jumpy the exception. If it is the other way around, I am very pessimistic about the future of British theatre.