Reader Reviews
The Rose Tattoo (Olivier (National Theatre), West End)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | The only show I've ever left at the interval. Extremely tedious with woeful accents. - rads | 23 May 07 |
| The only show I've ever left at the interval. Extremely tedious with woeful accents. - rads | 23 May 07 |
| The only show I've ever left at the interval. Extremely tedious with woeful accents. - rads | 23 May 07 |
| Zoe Wanamaker stars a rare performed play by Tennessee Williams. With witful and touching moments we get to know about a loving wife and mother, troubled with neighbours' expectations and religious attitudes about how a widow has to behave. But behind the curtain there is a life to be led...A life full of love, jearning, belief and work. Wanamaker makes this what some critics called a lifetime-performance and they are right. The part of Serafina is dangerous, because you may fall into clichees and make this figure a sorrowful and sobbing monument. Wanamaker, during the evening only in few minutes off stage, shows a real human being and touches with her great artistic power. Her daughter Rosa has been casted with a beginner (Susannah Fielding) and she and her lover Jack (Andrew Langtree) are the weak parts of a production that turns in their scenes into school play. But the production bears fine acting in the (many) supporting acts: Rosalind Knight, Maggie McCarthy, Mac McDonald, just to mention few of them. After some dissapointing evenings in former years, I'd never thought that the Olivier Auditorium's big stage could be filled with sensemaking staging of play and drama, but this production glues the audience to its seats. Want to experience best acting and have a moving night out? Than hurry to get your ticket to National Theatres THE ROSE TATTOO! Five Stars! - Peter, Germany | 01 May 07 |
| I saw the Rose Tattoo this evening and absolutely loved it. Zoe Wanamaker was exceptional and provided all the earthy Italian passion required for the role - with some wonderful comic timing too. She was incredibly well supported by a fantastic cast, not least Susannah Fielding as her daughter, who portrayed all the teenage angst and lust of a fifteen year old girl pushing out the boundaries and coping with her mothers grief.A touching and enjoyable production. A joy to watch. - LF | 26 Apr 07 |
| I wasn't quite sure about the play itself, it's the first time I've come across Williams' doing comedy but I really liked this production. Liked the revolving set, the kids and the general shouting and running around, even though I wasn't always sure what was happening. Thought Zoe Wanamaker was very, very good, without her the whole thing probably wouldn't have worked but with her made it a very enjoyable evening out. - peggs | 12 Apr 07 |
| I was pleased to read that other people are enjoying this play as I was surprised by some of the poor reviews that i read after press night. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance and thought Zoe Wanamaker did a fantastic job at portraying Serafina...I'm sure TW would be very pleased at the humour and atmosphere produced by the very talented company of actors and goat! - MJV | 08 Apr 07 |
| Far from the best of TW's plays, but a good production. The acting, like Mr Hytner's Alchemist in the same theatre, is OTT with tendancies to amdram; but this time it works. Great to see Zoe Wannamaker in a meaty role too. - Gareth James | 06 Apr 07 |
| Heartbreaking and joyful, this beautiful, pacey production is a fitting tribute to the late Steven Pimlott. Zoe Wanamaker is stunning as Serafina....by turns adorable, maddening, wise, vulnerable, earthy, sexy, impulsive....she completely inhabits this role, and must surely be an early contender for all this years' Best Actress gongs. With tremendous support from Susannah Fielding, Maggie McCarthy and an irresistible Darrell D'Silva, this is a sure fire hit. Lovely to see a life-affirming Tennessee Williams play. Unmissable! - ajh | 30 Mar 07 |
| Does rds not realise that Pimlott had no chance to be "usually wonderful" with this one? And two goes at posting a 2 star review only lowers the average unnecessarily, so I shall redress the balance with 4. - Mikey | 30 Mar 07 |
| Just a quickie - I typed the previous review in great haste as it had failed 3 times before trying to get it on the site - it did. So apologies for typing errors. I also would have said more but again written in haste. Enough now - I must let someone else get in! - rds | 30 Mar 07 |
| I've tried reviewing this three times now - how's that for persistance! But the site bombs out? Anyhow here's another go if I can maintain the enthusiasm. If I say Scillian 'Ello 'Ello you may get some idea of the treat in store. I have never seen such un-scillian ladies as the group who appear and reappear throughout this production. Along with the wonderfull Maggie McCarthy, the most un-italian of them all, looking more like she's wandered in from the west of Ireland. They are accompanied by a bunch of very un-scillian children whom I suspect are employed more to help fill the vastness of the Olivier stage than anything to do with the production. Williams stories are by nature claustaphobic. He needs a small space to get this across, not the railway station concourse of the Olivier. Zoe Wannamaker as Serafina makes a brave stab at the part but her intimate moments with Alvaro played by Darrel D'Silva are more like sicillian versions of Rene and Yvette than the betrayed and frustrated characters at the heart of this play. The production clunks along like a car with not enough air in its tyres. A great dissappointment seeing such good actors in such a mediocre production and sad to think this was the last from the usually wonderfull Steven Pimlott. - rds | 30 Mar 07 |
