Reader Reviews
The Children's Hour (The Harold Pinter Theatre (formerly The Comedy Theatre), West End)
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 | Another day, another 30′s American drama……and even though it also suffered from a slow first half (is it me? am I getting impatient?) it was a lot better than yesterday’s. Lillian Hellman’s play concerns two female teachers whose lives are ruined after accusations, based on hearsay and lies, that they are lesbian lovers…but it’s really much more than that. Like Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, it is many-layered in its exploration of the wider moral issues. It struck me how nothing has changed in 75 years – we’re still awash with false accusations which by the time they are proved wrong, it’s just too late and we’re still very quick to judge. It also struck me that this was 20 years before Miller’s play, so it must surely have been an influence. Apart from the slowness of the first half (the play rather than the production, I think) Ian Rickson’s direction is masterly and it gripped me more than Howard Davies’ NT’s staging c.17 years ago. The pivotal scene soon after the interval when the teachers visit their accuser is simply terrific. Mark Thompson has designed an elegant space which easily transforms from working school to home to mothballed school and has an intimacy and intensity despite the height he seems so fond of (c/f La Bete at the same theatre last year). I was impressed by the whole ensemble. The six leads – Keira Knightly, Elizabeth Moss, Ellen Burstyn, Carol Kane, Tobias Menzies and Bryony Hannah – were well cast and well matched and it was great to see the West End debut of no less than seven young actresses, of whom Amy Dawson and Lisa Backwell impressed greatly. It was particularly wonderful to see Ellen Burstyn on stage – such presence and such authority; a terrific performance This is no star casting money grab. Though it has and will clearly do well financially, it’s a quality play and production that holds its own up against the other current must-sees – Flare Path, Clybourne Park and Cause Celebre. - Gareth James | 06 Apr 11 |
| Although it pre-dates it by about 20 years, The Children's Hour is similar to The Crucible and it is no surprise that it made such an impact when revived during America's McCarthy period. The first act takes a long time over setting up the child's ruinous accusation and I cannot join in with the plaudits for Bryony Hannah. She has appeared at the National twice already so is hardly a novice and I thought she seemed undecided whether mary was a victim seeking revenge or a malicious bully. The play really takes off in the second and third acts and the twists, whilst not exactly shattering, are nicely handled by Ian Rickson. It is in the second half when the true quality of the main performances becomes apparent. Ellen Burstyn is superb as the grandmother and you can see why she is a Tony and Oscar winner. Elisabeth Moss develops her role as Martha from a quiet start and we now have proof that Keira Knightley is a genuinely credible stage actress. Her emotional response to Martha and the grandmother at the climax are intensely believable and her development from last year's Misanthrope is astounding. In many ways Lillian Hellman's remarkable first play is even better than Arthur Miller's sometimes heavy handed moralising and this is an excellent revival of an almost forgotten play. - David Baxter | 03 Mar 11 |
| After seeing the film many years ago and recently buying the DVD (in UK called "The Loudest Whisper")I wondered how the stage stars would compare to the film ones- Keira in the Audrey Hepburn role, ELizabeth Moss in the Shirley Maclaine, Ellen Burstyn in Fay Bainter role (Fay was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for this), Carol Kane in the Miriam Hopkins role and Tobias Menzies in the James Garner role. Well they all compared very well and Keira proves once again that she is a good Actress with stage presence. Great to see such a great cast and they were all very good in their roles specially Carol Kane but my acting honours goes to Bryony Hannah (don't agree with WOS review on her) who I thought was so good in her role that more than once I felt like jumping on stage and taking her to task for such lies--I hope to see this actress more on stage in future as she is very good. The story itself is excellent and goes to show what a rumour/whisper/lie can do to people's lives and my late Grandfather had a saying "Your Honour is only yours until someone wakes up and says something about you (whether true of false) and then your Honour is gone forever". I thought it was a great theatre night. - Joe Spiteri | 10 Feb 11 |
| This was a fine review, but must we mention Knightley's weight? Do you discuss that with every actress you review, or just her? So old and so over it. - Lola | 10 Feb 11 |
| I could not disagree more with Michael's review. Firstly I dont believe The Children's Hour ranks amongst the great American plays, it is fine but it is no masterpiece and can unintentionally descend into melodrama - paticularly the second half. I thought the performances of Elizabeth Moss and Keira to have been quite wooden and surface, the twist in the end for Moss's character is not convincing and is even laughable, because Moss and Knightley lack depth in their acting - they are certainly not a Vanessa Redgrave or Maggie Smith. Ellen Burstyn, a great screen actress, is flat on stage, her peformance is very mannered and cliche (cue hand on cheek for the shock). The real acting honours went to the young girls - every single one of them, paticularly the actress who played the lead child, were unbelievable. So in their character and convincing. Carol Kane and Tobias Menzies also deliver great supporting performances. The set is beautiful too and Ian Rickson's direction is good, paticularly in the first half. But ultimately this play is not a great one, and most of the actors hear (bar Hannah, Menzies and Kane) are not of the sort of calibre that can lift this play from its mediocrity. - Jackson | 10 Feb 11 |
