Reader Reviews
Losing Louis (Trafalgar Studios (previously the Whitehall), West End)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | Undemanding but very enjoyable, this unashamedly commercial piece reminded me of Ayckbourn without the dark undertones. All the performances are spot-on (Alison Steadman and David Horovitch are particularly good) and the dual time zones (half the play's set in the present and half is set in the '50s) is a neat theatrical device. Mendes da Costa has an excellent ear for dialogue; it won't knock your socks off but it's a pleasant night out. - 195.82.123.181) | 03 Jun 05 |
| Can't see the fuss; a bad middle-class white comedy that Ayckbourn has already cornered the market for. Polite laughter, not belly laughter, even on a Saturday night performance, however Bellingham and Steadman are fantastic, even if Steadman is just reprising Beverly twenty years older. - 62.254.0.54) | 28 May 05 |
| After all the hype this play was a big let down. To lift ideas from Aykborn may be ok for fringe theatre but not for the west end.I found it an empty piece of work, moderately well acted but quite unworthy of a west end transfer Richard Sandler - 81.79.236.31) | 10 Apr 05 |
| I quite enjoyed this comedy/ play as it could fall into either category. There were two stories taking place in the same bedroom - one in the 1950s and one in the present. The evening revealed how the 1950s story linked to the current one. All of the characters were really likeable, watchable and believable and a joy to watch. Alison Steadman was as brilliant as ever and David Horovitch also gave a good performance, as did all the cast really. There were moments of high comedy and high drama and the ending was very touching. This was the sort of play you'd expect from Alan Ayckbourn and for Simon Mendes Da Costa it was an excellent second play and very enjoyable. - 62.254.77.14) | 27 Mar 05 |
| Thank god Hampstead has at last produced something worthy of the trek from SW17! Though the production seems very conservative, it is a clever, original and funny play which gets the performances it deserves. Lets hope this is a turning point for Hampstead. - 81.134.144.8) | 17 Feb 05 |
| I can't understand what all the fuss is about! For me, it was just a typical Hampstead production - a superb staging of an awful play. Bravo to the performers, especially Lynda Bellingham, who was delightful. Anite Briem was a pleasant surprise. The set was unusually amateurish but still adequate. However, to say it is their best production to date is a sweeping statement indeed. I hope they revive Yellowman later this year - now that was a marvellous and quite fitting production. - 81.154.149.113) | 05 Feb 05 |
| The first good play that the new theatre has put on. Funny, clever and well crafted: a heaty welcome to a talented new playwright, and congratulations to a talented cast. - 82.35.53.224) | 25 Jan 05 |
| I have to agree with your reviewer, this play I caught on it's first preview last Thursday and it clearly had the audience in the palm of it's hand with it's very intriguing story and wonderfully played acting from Alison Steadman and the wholw company. It found it's laughter and pathos in all the right places as the writing constantly entertained and wonderfully delivered - as you would expect from such a stellar cast who were clearly enjoying the playing of their charectors. - 62.6.181.61) | 25 Jan 05 |
