Reader Reviews
Kiss of the Spider Woman (Donmar Warehouse, West End)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | I had high hopes for this play as I sat there in the gloom of the auditorium waiting for it to start, whilst marvelling at the wonderful set. They always do a good one at the Donmar, and Ben Stones' is no exception. I wish I could say the same for the acting. In my humble opinion Will Keen just didn't get it. He had an interesting, almost falsetto, voice, but which was at odds with his butch appearance, and less than impressive attempts at femininty. I suspect Charlotte Westenra, the directed, deliberatly got him to play the part down. But in so doing she has, I am afraid to say, left us with a rather bland characterisation, and one so tedious after that dull first act that I couldn't careless if he and his cell buddy were both taken out and shot. Rupert Evans plays his part as more an irritating student than a "dangerous" marxist dissident. To emphasise my point about underplaying Ms Westenra has the eventual Judas kiss happen so far to one side, and so close to the front edge of the stage that I am sure half the audience missed it. A dud for the usually very reliable Donmar. I wonder if we are seeing the same problem here as that which affected the NT, and also the RSC when their artistic directors buggered off to do other things, namely Broadway, leaving the house alone to fend for itself? Come on Michael start taking control again. - rds | 26 May 07 |
| For over two hours very little happens in the Argentine cell of the contrasting Molina and Valentin and what action there is is fairly distasteful. The ending, apparently changed from the original, is also ambiguous and unsatisfactory. And yet, Charlotte Westenra's production is raely less than compelling thanks to two exceptional performances. Will Keen is outstanding as Molina, looking like a camp Grant Mitchell from Eastenders, but it is impossible to take your eyes away from him throughout. Iain Glen is a fine actor but I cannot see him in this part so it may have been fortunate that Keen had to step in at short notice. How on earth this was turned into a musical I don't know, but Kiss of the Spider Woman offers a challenging drama. - David Baxter | 04 May 07 |
| This is a very uneven evening, with a first act that drags and a second act that's a cracker. The staging, design and acting is superb, but oh that first 50 mins is dull dull dull.... - Gareth James | 02 May 07 |
