Reader Reviews
The Mandate (Cottesloe (National Theatre), West End)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | It's great to see Declan Donnelan back at the NT. It's great to see a classic in the Cottesloe again. It's great to see a cast of 20 - a rare treat these days. It's a fascinating play and hard to believe such satire could be put on just 7 years after the Russian revolution. Most critics have a downer on the mannered, highly stylised and farcical production style. OK, so it can be a bit wearing, but it is often funny and how else do you make the play work in 2004? A welcome addition to the NT's repertoire. - 81.134.187.246) | 04 Jan 05 |
| Declan Donnelan is a great director but this is not one of his best productions. The problem is the play. It is a bitter indictment of communism in the 1920's but, like much political drama, it is written in a cartoon style without an ounce of reality. As a result, there is no conflict to be resolved and so no true drama. The result can be very funny in parts but, as a whole, it is a failure. There are some glorious moments and Deborah Findlay can never be dull. However, it's all a great waste of talent. - 195.93.34.12) | 14 Nov 04 |
| Appalling, overwrought, under-acted, lumpenly unfunny farce. It was so bad I felt like screaming myself hoarse. What the hell are they thinking, putting on dross like this? Sinead Matthews being really cute is its only saving grace, though her performance was dull. But overall I think it's the play that's bad rather than the production. It's a shame there's no zero stars option on these reviews. PS I saw one of the later previews - the postitive reviews below might hopefully mean it's improved drastically since then. - 194.82.50.2) | 11 Nov 04 |
| Almost too clever for its own good, but on the whole, a very enjoyable evening. - 66.32.107.163) | 07 Nov 04 |
| Stylish, pertinent, very amusing, and expertly performed by a super cast. Even with little interest in history or Theatre, anyone with any sense of humour will find much to delight. However, if you do like history and Theatre, and want to exercise your brain as well as your laugh lines, this will be an extra rewarding evening. - 82.43.170.60) | 02 Nov 04 |
| uninspired, unintelligable crap. who's in charge over there, for god's sake. - 217.158.147.107) | 01 Nov 04 |
