Reader Reviews
Piaf (Donmar Warehouse, West End)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | Elena Roger triumphantly proves that Evita was no fluke and that she is a theatrical superstar. This is a remarkable performance, acting and singing with equal conviction and intensity in two languages foreign to her and brave enough to confront all the ugliness of Piaf's multiple car crash of a life. In truth, Pam Gems' play is not that great, taking events at such breakneck speed that you are left begging for time to allow characters and locations room to breathe and develop, but Ms Roger and a superb supporting cast elevate the play to a higher class. Piaf deserves its' transfer to the Vaudeville and must be immortalised on CD, but anyone lucky enough to see Elena Roger in such close proximity at the Donmar will probably never forget such an astonishing performance. - David Baxter | 17 Sep 08 |
| The main fault of this show is the dire script, although the fantastic production helps. The cast are pretty good and Ms Roger although not a great actress gives her all. Whether it is worth sitting through the barrage of coughing,texting,and the ridiculous standing ovation from the moronic audience,is quite another question. I liked Ms Bruce very much,in this and 'Vernon God Little' besides, Arthur Mullard couldn't act for toffee.... or sing. - joesmith | 06 Sep 08 |
| No it isn't! This was such a disappointment I could have cried and for all the wrong reasons! Ms Rogers does a passable impersonation of Piaf but that's about it. She is not an actress. I felt the same with her portrayal of Evita, so to see her in this simply reinforces that view. Sure she can sing well and in French too, it helped to mask her heavy latino accent. An accent which seemed for the most part at odds with the cockney/mockney accents of her friends and associates. I didn't have the pleasure of seeing Jane Lapotaire play the part or the wonderful Zoe Wannamaker who played her friend. So I wonder who had the bright idea to cast an Arthur Mullard look-a-like in the friend's role? The scenes between the two went for nothing. And it gets worse the actor playing Marlene Dietrich looked like a pub drag act as she towered over Ms Rogers! So what do all the parts of this show add up to? Well not the life of Piaf that's for sure. It progresses as a succession of clumsy, cliched scenes that convey little of the real tragedy, or the ecstacy, of Piaf's life. An atmospheric set, as one would expect from the Donmar, but without heart! I grew up listening to Piaf, my mother was French, and I fully expected to be moved watching this, but instead it left me cold. A missed opportunity from a production house I had expected so much more from. Better luck next time then? - rds | 05 Sep 08 |
| This is a wonderful piece of staging -the opening scene and the boxing match took my breath away and the final scene brought a tear to the eye; I predict it will project director Jamie Lloyd into the premiere league overnight. There aren't enough superlatives to describe the mesmerising performance Elena Roger gives; you don't see many this good in your lifetime - hopefully she won't be robbed of awards as she was for Evita. The excellent ensemble of 9 who play the other 30 roles and the 2 musicians who provide the perfect accompaniment deserve high praise too. Yet another triumph for the Donmar and all involved. - Gareth James | 03 Sep 08 |
| Another stunning, jaw-dropping performance by Elena! BRAVO indeed. She carries you through the whole gamut of emotions, the joy and the heart-break; you live every smile and tear of it. Simply awesome! - pst | 29 Aug 08 |
| I'm not keen on star vehicles where the play itself is paper-thin, but with a star like this it can be stunning. The design is beautiful and appropriate, the supporting cast make the most of what crumbs Gems' throws them - would have been 5 stars had the material been worthy of the central performance. - DGR | 27 Aug 08 |
| This production is all about Elena Roger. The other actors come and go and some give fine support but Elena is the ever present and she steals the show, looking every inch, Piaf. She sings beautifully and whilst her speaking reflects her native Argentinian accent, this matters little in a fast paced, powerful re-telling of Piaf's life. If I could have asked for one thing more, it would have been a slightly cruder Piaf. But this is a minor quibble. This show seems to polarise opionion, you either love or hate it. Two people in front of me left half way through. I am in the former category. A very enjoyable evening in which Elena follows up her triumph as Evita with the same as Piaf. What will she do next? - Paul Wallis | 22 Aug 08 |
| Suffers in comparison to the movie cos nothing on childhood etc but great show, excellent ensemble stuff and a cracker of a performance from Elena Roger. - Lynette | 15 Aug 08 |
| Saw 2nd preview. Just wonderful. Audience went mad at the curtain,sell your mother and granmother for a ticket. It has to transfer. - Tony Kimpton | 15 Aug 08 |
| Saw 2nd preview. Just wonderful. Audience went mad at the curtain,sell your mother and granmother for a ticket. It has to transfer. - Tony Kimpton | 15 Aug 08 |
| I really do no like the format of most musicals. Too much shouting etc. Piaf, however, sent the occasional shiver down my spine and a tear to my eye and I was only at the previews. God help you when they all warm up. Elena Roger is astonishing. She has the very timbre of The Piaf- she looks the part even down to a slight hunch back at the end and if you close your eyes it IS Piaf singing right in front of you.. This is an exceptional evening at the theatre in any genre and the rest of the cast is wonderful. Sell your mother for a ticket because this is better than the excellent film. It is live and you feal the danger. - Andrew Frey-Lempicki | 14 Aug 08 |
| Elena Roger does it again. This is a sensational performance that breathes life into an episodic, if hugely engaging piece. Jamie Lloyd's ravishingly dark production is a fast moving triumph, with Rogers "Little Sparrow" firmly at its centre. She missed out on awards for her stunning Evita...surely it can't happen again. - hja | 14 Aug 08 |
