Reader Reviews
in-i (Lyttelton (National Theatre), West End)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | I have seen some fantastic work in the past by Akram Khan so know how good he is. The only good thing to say then about in-i is that this was a missed chance. As dance it wasn't very interesting and the dancing is pretty poor and the story such as it is laughable. I'm also annoyed because this really was a wasted evening, how it got staged is beyongd me indeed the man outside the NT playing his guitar was so much more entertaining. - CAA | 03 Oct 08 |
| Acting meets dance in what may be a vanity project, but somewhat surprisingly tells a story in a unique way and holds the attention for its 60 minute running time. Unlike the pointless experimentation of Katie Mitchell on the same stage, this one seems just about worth the effort. But is it what the National is for? This month we have one of the aforementioned pretentious experiments, two dance pieces, an Irish import, three return runs (two of which are monologues), a Pinter platform expanded to a full evening.....and one new in-house production. Meanwhile the Donmar, the Almeida, The Young Vic, the Old Vic, the Barbican and others unfunded or less funded are providing theatre goers with the quality productions the National used to provide. Time for a wake-up call, Mr Hytner - are you still in tune with your audience? - Gareth James | 03 Oct 08 |
| self gratulating work of two artists (three including anish kapoor) interesting in the first two scenes, repetitive and irritating for the rest. juliette binoche can't dance and both can't tell stories ... shame, it could have been so good. - til | 26 Sep 08 |
| Forget yourself for 70 superb action -packed minutes in this wonderful piece of theatre. The reviews are wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed this piece and thought both actor and dancer were spellbinding. Go and see it. - Kim | 22 Sep 08 |
| I really enjoyed it. I think the broadsheets have been too harsh. The dancing was superb and I really enjoyed A.K.'s monologue - I think he is a very good actor. Binoche expressed herself very well through dance and through her performance overall. I recommend it. - C Bhasin | 19 Sep 08 |
| Too selfindulgent and far too long. It may have worked as a 20 minute piece, as it is its just tedious. - AD | 19 Sep 08 |
| 65 minutes of pure tedium, I don't know what exactly constitutes dancing these days but this was a complete and utter waste of time, effort and money. There are 36 blocks in the wall, believe me you'll have time to count and the magnet is quite clearly in the back of the coat. Gets one star for the funny business with the toilet. Avoid. - QuincyMD | 18 Sep 08 |
| One star is too generous. It was self-indulgent drivel. Binoche is no dancer -- and the discrepancy between the two is the only drama in the performance. The sweat smeared on the wall disgusted me. The lighting of the wall was pleasant. Give your tickets away or just drink in the foyer. - KP | 10 Sep 08 |
| An engaging and thoughtful piece of theatre. For the most part intriguing. Excellent performances and all technical elements are spot on. - TS | 09 Sep 08 |
| This play is 75 minutes long. There are a few ineresting minutes but it is still 75 minutes too long. - ILS | 08 Sep 08 |
| Well I wasn't optimistic when I set out for this performance; I wasn't sure if it would be some arty-farty self-indulgent tedious soul searching. So I was extremely pleasantly surprised to find myself hugely enjoying the evening. The performances were both superb. I suppose we should only expect that from Khan who is said to be world-renowned as a dancer and choreographer, but he was closely matched by Binoche. Both performers (calling them 'actors' in this context seems inaccurate somehow, though there was some serious acting going on) were hugely athletic, lithe and strong. To me, it seemed that the performance (again, to call it a 'play' seems wrong too) depicted a relationship from the beginning to the end, and was in turns coy, amusing, and moving. Hats off to both performers, and to the National for taking the sort of risk that it is there for. I may even go again. [For anybody who has seen it, and without wanting to spoil anything, that HAD to be an electro-magnet, didn't it?] - LDE | 06 Sep 08 |
