We take a look at what critics have had to say about Jemma Kahn’s show, playing at the Riverside Studios until the 4th February.
The Guardian: **** “There is something mildly shocking and heady about this mix, and about this show. It is all over too soon: we feel as though we have been thrown delicious after-dinner morsels and we want more.”
The Reviews Hub: **** “We Didn’t Come To Hell For The Croissants delivers a classy concoction of satire, social commentary, and clever visual humour in an absorbing and fascinating 70 minutes. It may be a while before another Kamishibai-style piece of theatre comes to London, so catch this if you can.”
Everything Theatre.co.uk: **** “We Didn’t Come to Hell for the Croissants is absolutely all over the place – by intent. There is a little bit of whiplash from the constant flux, a sense of wonder about what we just saw and how on earth someone came up with all of it, but it’s hugely funny and entertaining and weird. Even with the great variety of theatre in London, Kahn’s version of Kamishibai brings something different and unique. She has been presenting this successfully all over the world for years, but this is her London debut and it is long overdue.”
Broadway World: ***** “With We Didn’t Come To Hell For The Croissants, Kahn makes her London debut and it is long overdue. She has a lively physicality which invigorates every element of her narrative cabaret. We hang on her words like a hat on a hook and, frankly, we could have been there a while longer than the 70-minute running time. Here’s hoping the rest of the trilogy makes its way to the UK sometime soon.”
The Stage: *** “South African theatremaker Jemma Kahn performs her seductive, slightly giddying monologue of outrageous stories like a well-oiled machine.”
The Upcoming: **** “Without a doubt, this is a show that everyone will enjoy (just don’t take your parents), and if that isn’t convincing, maybe this line from Riverside Studios (perhaps the best promotional line for a show ever) will: “Everyone who wrote a story for We Didn’t Come to Hell for the Croissants has gone on to win a Pulitzer. Or gone to jail.””
All That Dazzles: **** “Kahn’s performance is so thrillingly alive and passionate that you’d be forgiven for assuming it’s a brand-new piece. If you like drama, or comedy, or sex, or music, or smashed apples, or singing cats, you’ll surely adore this show.”
London Theatre1: **** “At 70-minutes long, the show moves along jauntily with a certain surreal cabaret feel. Although kamishibai has a simplicity that may remind you of touring entertainment for children, the material is plenty ribald. Sassy and erudite, Kahn tells stories that are part-conceptual art, part-Tales of the Unexpected. It’s pleasing that this show doesn’t take itself too seriously; it’s neither preachy nor self-important. But it has a few barbs for fair targets of self-importance or discrimination whilst entertaining in a mildly madcapped (but contained) way.”
Lost in Theatreland.co.uk: **** “We Didn’t Come to Hell for the Croissants is a night you won’t want to miss for the entertaining stories and Kahn’s enthralling performance.”
We didn’t Come to Hell for the Croissants will play at the Riverside Studios until the 4th February.