Harry Enfield makes his theatre debut in Richard Jones’s production – but what have critics been saying about it?
The Guardian: *** “Enfield gives us a shuffling oldster who knows that his power lies in his position. His performance is one of the brighter features in a production by Richard Jones that puts visual bravura before verbal precision.”
The Telegraph: *** “Fun at the expense of Tinsel-town for the Christmas period, then, but it won’t stay with you for life.”
The Independent: *** “I may not be a massive fan of the piece, but I applaud this production as the best and least overblown account of it that I have seen.”
WhatsOnStage: *** “Once in a Lifetime tells the truth about the entirely bonkers nature of Hollywood.”
The Stage: *** “Despite the hard work of Claudie Blakley, Kevin Bishop and John Marquez, the production can’t quite compensate for the fact that the central trio aren’t all that appealing or well-defined.”
A Younger Theatre: “All in all, Once in a Lifetime is a diverting evening of entertainment with some excellent comic moments, but suffers from a lack of depth beneath its comic surface.”
Time Out: *** “in a season when even the pantos are banging on about Brexit and Trump, a piece of genuine escapism is no bad thing.”
Broadway World: **** “Once in a Lifetime is an entertaining two hours that will keep you chuckling after the curtain comes down.”
London Theatre.co.uk: ** “This is a play that should fizz with the excitement and energy of a freshly opened Prosecco but instead bubbles softly like day-old buck’s fizz.”
Gay Times: *** “this is a big-hearted and charming story with plenty of laughs. It may lack a bit of oomph, but it remains a funny and entertaining evening of theatre.”
Evening Standard: *** “As the madness escalates, Richard Jones’s production is full of visual flair.”
The Reviews Hub: *** “It feels like there is a brilliant satire here just aching to get out of the can.”
West End Whingers: “But it was (as ever) Amanda Lawrence as a fussingly efficient film studio secretary who shamelessly stole every scene she appeared in.”
Theatre Cat: *** “It’s a grand Christmas treat, and there are some glorious moments especially in the second half.”
The Daily Mail: “if it is to move to the West End it will need a wider and deeper stage, less shaky sets and a greater commitment to at least a pretence that we will believe the storyline before its comedy-apocalypse end.”
Exeunt Magazine: “some will relish this spectacularly silly world of caricature and kitsch, but there’s a reason they don’t make ‘em like this anymore, particularly in Britain, and it’s because no-one like them. Tastes have changed.”
The Times: ** “eccentric yet curiously listless revival.”
British Theatre Guide: “this production dilutes the impact of what becomes a mildly pleasing rather than sensational night out.”
The Financial Times: *** ” With a little more oomph and the tactical deployment of an extra 10 decibels or so, this could elicit guffaws rather than chuckles.”
There Ought to be Clowns: “the comic plaudits of the night go to the ever-excellent Amanda Lawrence in a hilarious performance as the put-upon secretary Miss Leighton.”
Once in a Lifetime will play at the Young Vic until the 14th January 2017. For more information and to book tickets visit: http://www.youngvic.org/whats-on/once-in-a-lifetime.