6 / 10
The play is lazy, the characters forced into absurd and improbable positions by the writer’s agenda. And behind the subjects it ostensibly confronts – misogyny, sexual violence, identity politics, cancellation by social media – I think it’s also about how awful it is to be a writer and have your work mutilated and misunderstood by idiot actors, directors and critics.
4 / 10
Jeremy Herrin’s production, starring Woody Harrelson and Andy Serkis, is staged as full-on farce. Herrin gives his big-name cast free rein to milk the text for every possible laugh, and chucks in a flurry of sight gags for good measure. It is often quite funny, but the relentless clowning interrupts the play’s rhythm, diffusing the tension and menace that should be building in the background. Rather than drawing a clear connecting line from the grubby locker-room talk of the play’s first few minutes to the brutal violence of its closing moments, Herrin instead leaves us with a series of amusing but disjointed punchlines.
An Oscar-winning American actor, an English director and a Northern Irish playwright are about to begin rehearsals for a new play — one that could transform each of their careers. But when it turns out that they’re not on the same page, the night threatens to spiral out of control. The eight week run starring Woody Harrelson, Andy Serkis and Louisa Harland has now opened; so what did the critics think?
Ulster American, last seen in Edinburgh in 2018, opens with a debate about using the n-word. So far, so Ireland. We then touch on sex, consent, religion, Unionism, the IRA and Brexit, all crafted with bitingly sharp humour. It’s a lot to take in.
We've got a first look at production photos for award-winning playwright David Ireland’s Ulster American directed by Jeremy Herrin and starring Woody Harrelson, Andy Serkis and Louisa Harland.
Exclusive: Now Onsale for Ulster American. An Oscar-winning American actor, an English director and a Northern Irish playwright are about to begin rehearsals for a new play — one that could transform each of their careers. But when it turns out that they’re not on the same page, the night threatens to spiral out of control.
