The Hothouse

Synopsis

It's Christmas Day in a nameless state-run mental institution where the inmates are subjected to a tirade of mindless cruelty. A maniacal and self-obsessed leader breeds a contagion of hierarchical savagery amongst his staff, who thrive on a noxious diet of delusion and deceit. Under a veil of devilish wit and subversive humour, Pinter's biting political commentary on the perils of unchecked power is as vital and pertinent today as when it was written in the 50's.'

Our Review:

Simon Tavener - 2 February 2012

Reviewing a production by a student company is always a challenge. They are performing in a professional theatre, charging up to £16 a ticket and, at the same time, you have to remember that they are all young, relatively inexperienced actors fitting in rehearsals around lectures, essays and tutorials.

Illyria Productions – the company behind this revival of Pinter’s rarely performed The Hothouse – have been trying to position their production as being a cut-above the average student show in Oxford. They have been trumpeting the size of their budget and claiming that the cast is full of ‘some of Oxford’s brightest young acting talent.’

Having raised expectations so high, the production has to deliver on the hype. I am sorry to say that it fails on many levels.

There is no doubting that the individual actors all have talent. However there is little sense of them coming together as an ensemble, as a group working together. E...

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Latest User Review

Richard - 7 May 2012:

I'm confused as to whether I saw the same play as the reviewer. Went to see this completely by chance after the concert we were in Oxford to see was cancelled. It was only at the interval that we clocked it was actually a student production - remarkably good and on par with many professional Pinter productions I have seen! The acting was nearly flawless. The Lighting and Sound Effects were incredible....

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