Deanna Dunagan in August: Osage County
Tweet

Review Round-up: Sun Shines on August Transfer

The Chicago Steppenwolf production of Tracy Letts' August: Osage County opened to critics at the NT Lyttelton last night (26 November 2008, previews from 21 November) with most original members of the multiple Tony-award winning production reprising their roles.

August: Osage County exposes the dark side of the middle American family. When the Westons unexpectedly reunite after dad disappears, their Oklahoman homestead explodes in a maelstrom of repressed truths and unsettling secrets, all overseen by the pill-popping and scathingly acidic matriarch Violet (Dunagan).

Original ensemble members accompanying the London transfer are: Deanna Dunagan, Rondi Reed (who both won individual Tonys for their performances on Broadway) Ian Barford, Kimberley Guerrero, Mariann Mayberry, Michael McGuire, Amy Morton, Sally Murphy, Jeff Perry, Molly Ranson and Troy West. They’re joined by fellow Americans and new company members Paul Vincent O’Connor and Chelcie Ross.

August: Osage County is directed by Anna D Shapiro and designed by Todd Rosenthal, both of whom also won Tony Awards for their work on the production. Author Tracy Letts’ other credits include Bug and Killer Joe, both of which were seen at London’s Bush Theatre in the 1990s.

The reaction of the London critics last night echoed that of their New York counterparts, with the majority concluding that August: Osage County more than justified the pre-transfer hype. The ensemble cast received a barrage of plaudits - “one of the greatest acting companies in the world” according to one critic and “superb in even the smallest roles” according to another. Despite minor grumblings from some regarding perceived “clichéd” character construction, the evening was neatly summed up by Whatsonstage.com’s own Michael Coveney as “one of the greatest nights in the theatre I can recall”.

Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph (four stars) – “I'm not entirely persuaded that this is the first indisputably great American play of the 21st century, as some have claimed. Though loosely based on events in the life of Letts' own family, it often seems derivatively inspired by the dramas of Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams and Edward Albee, combined with a dash of top-class American soap opera … Yet why worry whether posterity judges this an enduring state-of-the nation masterpiece or merely an entertaining pastiche of the great American play? What matters now is that August: Osage County is a consistently gripping, moving and often wildly funny melodrama that keeps the audience hooked and enthralled for three and a half hours … By the end of Anna D Shapiro's richly detailed, continually absorbing production, you feel you know all the characters well. The acting is superb in even the smallest roles.”

- by Theo Bosanquet

Related Content

Booking Tickets & Show Listings
	August: Osage County Listing Page

Internal Links
	D'Amour's Detroit Comes to NT Cottesloe in 2012 - 14th Nov 2011 news
	August: Osage County - 27th Nov 2008 reviews