Shadowlands West End Reviews

Bonneville is amiable, believable and gently formal as Lewis. His presence feels like a comfortable pair of shoes; familiar and unchallenging, but as the character submits to the waves of grief after Joy dies, Bonneville is touchingly bereft. Siff is...

Bonneville is amiable, believable and gently formal as Lewis. His presence feels like a comfortable pair of shoes; familiar and unchallenging, but as the character submits to the waves of grief after Joy dies, Bonneville is touchingly bereft. Siff is great as Joy, arriving in a wave of energy that is a huge contrast to the staid and rather grey world of Oxford academia.

There are some scenes that penetrate, especially the exhilarating moment that Lewis and Joy declare their love for each other, circling around the other. The rapport between Lewis and his older brother (Jeff Rawle) with whom he lives, is amusing as w...

There are some scenes that penetrate, especially the exhilarating moment that Lewis and Joy declare their love for each other, circling around the other. The rapport between Lewis and his older brother (Jeff Rawle) with whom he lives, is amusing as well. But as a story of love and grief, it should have you in bits. Love found, so late, an emotionally remote man thawed by it, and then lost again, his love an open wound. It does not feel as eviscerating as it should.

Kavanaugh wisely doesn’t try to revamp things. Her production, clad in shades of brown, black and grey, unfolds in measured fashion against Peter McKintosh’s set of lofty library shelves. Bonneville, who seems always to be putting on or taking of...

Kavanaugh wisely doesn’t try to revamp things. Her production, clad in shades of brown, black and grey, unfolds in measured fashion against Peter McKintosh’s set of lofty library shelves. Bonneville, who seems always to be putting on or taking off a raincoat or a dressing gown here, is a perfect fit for Nicholson’s avuncular, slightly pompous Lewis. Siff is similarly right for the beady-eyed, passionate Joy. Their relationship convinced but never quite moved me. This feels like a piece of heritage theatre, albeit one mounted with star power and skill.

Nodding to Narnia, Peter McKintosh's staging reveals a hidden, magical world from behind a bookcase. It suggests that beyond the shadows of life, there is something beautiful waiting. Even as doubt creeps in, infecting Lewis’s once-unwavering faith...

Nodding to Narnia, Peter McKintosh's staging reveals a hidden, magical world from behind a bookcase. It suggests that beyond the shadows of life, there is something beautiful waiting. Even as doubt creeps in, infecting Lewis’s once-unwavering faith, it's an image that hangs in his every thought.

Shadowlands examines love, loss, hope, and grief in a compelling and engaging way. It is well suited to the stage and enables Bonneville and Siff to give emotion-filled and detailed performances. The play allows the audience to contemplate marriage, ...

Shadowlands examines love, loss, hope, and grief in a compelling and engaging way. It is well suited to the stage and enables Bonneville and Siff to give emotion-filled and detailed performances. The play allows the audience to contemplate marriage, divorce, religion, poetry, and philosophy, exploring the possibility of finding love when it is least expected and the belief that grief is a lasting manifestation of all the love we still have to give. A fantastic and powerful production!