Here is what critics have been making of Scott Elliott’s production of Sam Shepard’s Buried Child, now playing at the Trafalgar Studios.
The Stage: ****”it’s a captivating production, with Elliott highlighting the cracked quality of the writing, with its shades of Shirley Jackson, while giving shape to this odd American fable, full of family secrets, tainted earth and unlegged men.”
The Telegraph: *** “Shepard interleaves memorable phrase-making with clunking exposition and Scott Elliott’s production, judged “uneven” by the New York Times when it ran earlier this year, only partially persuades you you’re watching a modern classic.”
The Independent: *** “Harris brings wit,subtlety and a complete freedom from melodrama to his portrayal of this curmudgeonly husk of a once-fierce man.”
London Theatre1: ***** “This is the introduction of a seminal work to be revisited and reseeded for generations of actors and theatre-goers to come.”
WhatsOnStage: **** “If the first act is over-cryptic, stuffed full of secrets and strange behaviour, it only serves to draw you deeper into Scott Elliott’s staging – each person a puzzle to be pored over.”
The Guardian: *** “Loving as Elliott’s production is, you get the anguish without the absurdity that for Shepard is inseparable from family life.”
Time Out: **** “it’s not exactly Christmassy, but if you like a good horror story in the bleak midwinter, this’ll do you.”
Evening Standard: **** “Elliott has crafted a rich production with a mesmeric quality and a rare confidence to take its time.”
The Reviews Hub: ** “Buried Child proves to be quite a messy and frustrating play that could have been something great, if only Shepard and Elliot could decide quite what that something was.”
The Daily Mail: ** “a loathsome offering which manages to be both thuddingly allegorical and pretentiously cryptic.”
Radio Times: **** “Despite the conclusion being both moving and powerful, strands are left hanging and questions unanswered, which all adds to a feeling of unease that will linger long in the memory.”
Buried Child will appear at the Trafalgar Studios until the 4th March 2017. To book tickets visit: ATG Tickets, Ticketmaster.co.uk, Discount Theatre.com, Theatre Tickets Direct.co.uk, Love Theatre.com, Theatre People.com and UK Tickets.co.uk.