John Boyega stars in Joe Murphy’s production now playing at the Old Vic Theatre. But what have critics been making of it?
The Independent: **** “John Boyega leaves you in no doubt about his stage chops in this cumulatively devastating portrayal of the title character in Joe Murphy’s production.”
The Guardian: *** ” Murphy’s production sometimes seems too desperate to locate only a rawness in the human condition, however, which means that at its greatest dramatic moments it does not always ring true.”
Radio Times: ***** “Boyega, as the eponymous soldier, is absolutely compelling and captivating.”
WhatsOnStage: **** “The play is unrelentingly nihilistic but in such hands its descent into darkness is completely absorbing.”
London Theatre.co.uk: **** “It is a discomforting play that’s not easy to watch, but this deeply atmospheric production provides a darkly compelling experience.”
The Upcoming: *** “while the fragmented, hallucinatory nature of the production works from a theatrical standpoint, the excesses it provokes in Boyega doesn’t.”
The FT: *** “It’s a great idea, seeing in the original a powerful play for today. But the result, though excellent in parts, feels bogged down by explanation and addition.”
Evening Standard: **** “This isn’t an easy watch, but it certainly rewards audience effort.”
Exeunt Magazine: “That the final scene is able to convey so much power despite the more negative aspects of the production is nothing but a testament to Boyega’s standout performance.”
The Times: ** “It’s a scream, but there are no laughs watching a man go mad.”
The Telegraph: *** “The star attraction himself – a delight at times but could do with a little more light in his sabre. ”
Variety: “It becomes harder and harder to keep a handle of Joe Murphy’s production, allowing it to snap to a genuinely shellshocking climax.”
Broadway World: ** “Somehow, despite or maybe because of its ambition, this production misses its target.”
British Theatre Guide: “This new version of a classic may be blunt but it is always remarkably clear and logical.”
Theatre Weekly: “Woyzeck is an intriguing insight to the psychological effects of military service on young men, it has been very considerately staged and wonderfully cast to ensure the perfect re-telling of an old classic, to be enjoyed by a larger audience.”
Hollywood Reporter: “Boyega makes the man’s descent palpably, frighteningly, despairingly real. It could prove to be a defining appearance, in a sterling production.”
The Culture Trip: “The cast is led by the brilliant direction of Joe Murphy, who offers a slickly choreographed and unsettling cacophony of physical and lyrical interplay.”
The Sweet London Life: *** “Powerful, yet perplexing, this Woyzeck isn’t a classic, but is nevertheless, a thought-provoking comment on the forgotten factions of modern society.”
Theatre Guide London: “Director Joe Murphy keeps too much on the same near-hysterical note for enough of it to involve us, carry much meaning, or matter.”
The Daily Mail: **** “Joe Murphy’s production brings Woyzeck’s living nightmare to bleak and brutal life.”
Woyzeck will play at the Old Vic Theatre until the 24th June. To book tickets visit: Ticketmaster.co.uk, Discount Theatre.com, Last Minute.com, Theatre Tickets Direct.co.uk, Love Theatre.com, Theatre People.com and UK Tickets.co.uk.