Review Roundup: McPherson's NIGHT ALIVE at the Donmar Warehouse

The premiere of Conor McPherson's new play, NIGHT ALIVE, opened at the Donmar Warehouse on 19 June 2013 and runs through 27 July 2013. The cast includes Ciaran Hinds and Brian Gleeson.

Visit: http://www.donmarwarehouse.com/ for tickets or more information.

Check out what the critics had to say:

Michael Coveney of whatsonstage.com: McPherson positively roisters in the language of this situation, ratchets up the tension; I've rarely seen such a brilliantly fused improvisation on Harold Pinterand David Mamet at once. Doc won't be fobbed off with cigars or banana sandwiches for payment; the riff Tommy gets out of his stale cigar dealing is a good example of how McPherson can spin rhythmic linguistic comedy all night long.

Henry Hitchings of the Evening Standard: There's some fine comic writing here, especially in Tommy's throwaway lines about Doc's fallen arches or the saleability of dried-up cigars (which are, he points out, easier to light). One unlikely burst of euphoria involves dancing to a Marvin Gaye song. In a grimmer sequence a moment's sweet relief is provided by Maurice's obsession with the theft of turnips from his vegetable patch.

Paul Taylor of the Independent: McPherson is a master at suggesting the loneliness and the unappeasable demons of shame and despair that stalk our lives under the bantering, drink-fuelled conviviality and at intimating the human hunger for - and dread of - the numinous.

Charles Spencer of the Telegraph: But the play must sometimes seem like a curse as well as a blessing to McPherson, for though he has written some decent plays since then, he has never quire recaptured the enthralling magic of The Weir. This new piece looks like a determined attempt to do so. It has the same combination of characters - four men and a woman - and the great Irish actor Jim Norton, who was in the original production of The Weir, is in this new piece too. Once again there is a sense of characters trying to make the best of their often lonely lives.

Michael Billington of the Guardian: No one is better than playwright Conor McPherson at dramatising the loneliness of the Irish male. Following a brilliant revival of The Weir at the Donmar earlier this year, we now have a new McPherson play, directed by the author, which also shows the disruptive impact of a female intruder on a world of masculine solitude. It makes for a thoroughly entertaining 105 minutes, without ever offering startling insights into the author's familiar theme.

Dominic Maxwell of the Times: ...McPherson gives us lots of laughs... despite some thrillerish tension, The Night Alive is defined by sharp, knowing dialogue. That calls for excellent performances. McPherson's production has nothing but. Hinds, hard to recognise behind his half-moon moustache, inhabits Tommy totally. Caoilfhionn Dunne is both withdrawn and phlegmatic as Aimee, and the sonorous Jim Norton ensures that Maurice's natural authority is compromised only by his attempts to look sober after a bout of daytime drinking. Michael McElhatton gives the piece its heart as Doc... Another director might have tightened this up a bit, but the drift is part of the point, part of the mordantly funny, occasionally horrifying mess of this strangely tender show.

Quentin Letts of the Daily Mail: Ciaran Hinds is utterly convincing as this bulky, oddjob man in his 50s. When hungry he reaches a big hand into a box of Bonio dog biscuits. He drinks rum out of a tea mug. Mr Hinds gives a most delicate performance to clinch this mottled character. Tommy is a failure but a kind fellow. Much of the dramatic power in this play comes from gruff charity - gentleness amid desperate nothingness.

The Metro: Things both wonderful and monstrous happen at night in Conor McPherson's new play, The Night Alive . There's the quiet rapture of the three main characters - middle-aged Dublin ne'er-do-wells Tommy and Doc, and troubled younger woman Aimee - as they dance unselfconsciously to Marvin Gaye's What's Going On.

Andrew Tomlins of West End Frame: At first I was unsure where the plot was going. To begin with The Night Alive is very easygoing and packed with Irish humour, which I loved. The entire play is set in Tommy's messy rented room which is part of his uncle Maurice's house. He seems a fairly laid back character who snacks on dog biscuits (yes, you read that correctly). However, when Aimee comes flying into Tommy's life with plenty of her own problems, the play becomes a little complicated.

Add Your Comment

To post a comment, you must register and login.