Mark Rylance and Jim Lichtscheidl star in Claire van Kampen’s production, which has transferred to London following a successful run in New York. But what have critics made of it over here?
The Guardian: *** “It all depends on what you want from an evening in the theatre. If you are happy to watch Mark Rylance playing an eccentric loner who feels love and life have passed him by, this may be enough. Personally, I hunger for something more substantial.”
WhatsOnStage: *** “It’s a strange little watch and if it delights, it owes a lot to the design. Todd Rosenthal’s set is kitscher than a Jeff Koons Selfridges store window.”
Time Out: **** “endearingly strange piece of theatre”
The Stage: **** “eccentric but exhilaratingly odd production.”
The Independent: **** “not a conventional play but a succession of absurdist monologues and vignettes that are punctuated with brisk, bathetic black-outs in Claire van Kampen’s bewitching and beautifully-paced production.”
Evening Standard: *** “There’s a memorably offbeat design by Todd Rosenthal, some nimble puppetry and plenty of affectionate humour, yet this 90-minute show may leave all but the most fervent of the actor’s admirers hoping that his next theatre project will be more substantial.”
London Theatre.co.uk: **** “The play is by turns funny, sad, weird and surprising. But don’t expect anything by way of conventional narrative or plot progression.”
Official Theatre: **** “The key is that you didn’t need to “get it”, you just needed to hear it. Wrapped up in the snow and high-vis orange snowsuits is a wonderment for the largeness of the world, hinting that whilst Nice Fish is an ardently funny, enigmatic caper in the cold, there’s something a lot more sinister lurking under the ice.”
Mature Times: “It’s humorous, it’s oddball, it’s eccentric, it’s absurdist and it’s fishy. It could be stand-up. Bits are funny. But lots of it is not funny and boring.”
Broadway World: **** “Nice Fish proves itself to be that rarest of beasts: a show that sets out to be different and succeeds.”
The Telegraph: *** “Some will carp, some will say this stinks. But this is how Rylance came to be Rylance – doing things on his own idiosyncratic terms.”
British Theatre Guide: “If readers wish to get a better understanding of the purpose of this dull, mystifying play or glean any pleasure that it might offer to the receptive, they will need to head off to the Harold Pinter Theatre to discover the attractions of Nice Fish for themselves.”
Nice Fish is booking until the 11th February 2017. To book tickets visit: Ticketmaster.co.uk, Discount Theatre.com, ATG Tickets, Theatre Tickets Direct.co.uk, Love Theatre.com, Theatre People.com and UK Tickets.co.uk.