We take a look at what is being said about the new musical based on Roald Dahl’s children story.
The Guardian: *** “If the script channels Dahl’s linguistic agility and imagination, it cleans up his darkness. The witches are more comical than abominable and there is a lo-fi cutesiness to the children’s transformations into inanimate objects (they pop sweetly out of boxes in cardboard costumes). The biggest fright comes when a phone rings in the auditorium and the High Witch loses it.”
The New York Times: “It’s a deftly rendered production, a high-quality piece of family entertainment that skilfully blends the playful and the macabre, and does justice to the author’s distinct comic style.”
Evening Standard: **** “this is a polished, witty, crisply sardonic serving of Dahl. And if the other child actors sharing the central roles are as good as the ones I saw, they deserve all the plaudits.”
Time Out: ***** “It also looks amazing: colourful and inventive, from the early use of creepy animations to a gloriously Tim Burton-esque section in which the Grand High Witch outlines her plan and endless inventive ways to depict mice on stage. It’s sterling work from a creative team headed by designer Lizzie Clachlan, with videos from Ash J Woodward.”
The FT: “Lucy Kirkwood’s excellent script and lyrics bristle with wit, shaking up Dahl’s trademark mix of the mischievous and the macabre. It’s genuinely scary in places, with allusions to fascism: these witches dream of cleansing the country.”
London Unattached: “The Witches is joyous and dark in equal measure, giving the RSC’s Matilda a run for its money, and striking a balance that doesn’t condescend to children and deftly treads the fine line between captivating both child and adult audiences.”
There Ought to be Clowns: “I loved Dave Malloy’s score too, unafraid to be a bit daring with its atypical blend of musical theatre and something altogether grittier and stranger. With some top tier casting for the leads – Sally Ann Triplett’s gruffly emotive Gran and Katherine Kingsley’s iconic Grand High Witch joined by a superb Vishal Soni as Luke (a role shared with Bertie Caplan and Frankie Keita) – The Witches sounds great (MD Cat Beveridge leading a hidden orchestra) and looks an absolute treat too (Clachan’s costumes match up to the exceptional standard) as it winds its way to a bittersweetly beautiful conclusion. Hugely recommended.”
London Theatre.co.uk: ***** “Lyndsey Turner’s constantly inventive production cleverly handles Luke’s transformation into a mouse, aided by Chris Fisher and Will Houstoun’s delightful illusions. Lizzie Clachan’s vibrant design, incorporating animation, contrasts the pink hotel interiors with dark, supernatural tree tendrils that encroach on our human world.”
The Independent: ***** “The National Theatre’s sparkling adaptation of Dahl’s story about a group of child-hating witches has the sardonic humour of ‘Matilda’ and ‘Paddington 2’ and is as electrifying as a failed bid to untangle your broken fairy lights.”
The Telegraph: *** “The National Theatre’s big Christmas production is charmingly exuberant – but oddly light on drama.”
The Stage: **** “Dark new musical based on the Roald Dahl novel is a heady, mischievous brew that leaves you grinning.”
Broadway World: ***** “Lucy Kirkwood (book and lyrics) and Dave Malloy (music and lyrics) make a remarkable duo with huge wit and warmth, capturing the magic of Dahl’s writing, without dumbing down the darkness. One slightly unwelcome theme is the repetition of certain words or phrases at the end of many of the songs; over and over again.”
WhatsOnStage: **** “Lizzie Clachan’s playful range of sets, arranged under the shawdowy finger-like branches overhanging the stage, make good use of the Olivier’s box of tricks. The revolve in particular is used to excellent effect in the second act as we move from the hotel dining room to the kitchen, where Luke in rodent form attempts to administer the witches with a fatal dose of Formula 86 via a pot of pea soup. It’s a pity the excellent orchestra (led by musical director Cat Beveridge) aren’t on show, but they do at least get a filmed cameo at the curtain call. Suitably for the season, there’s no shortage of pantomimic fun on offer which extends to Clachan’s costuming, with the children dressed in an array of cartoonish outfits from carriage clocks and vases to Henry hoovers.”
iNews: **** “Lucy Kirkwood’s book is lively and enjoyable, although key plot points – the original encounter between Gran and the Grand High Witch, for example – remain frustratingly under-explained in Lyndsey Turner’s production. Several such moments will require greater clarity if the show is to have a further life and, tunefully agreeable though Dave Malloy’s songs are, too many are simply too long.”
Theatre Weekly: “Sally Ann Triplett is delightful as Gran, transitioning through the course of the show from a harsh and disillusioned old woman to a loveable matriarch who does the best she can for Luke. The highlight of The Witches though, has to be Daniel Rigby as the highly strung hotel manager, Mr Stringer. Rigby throws himself around the stage in all manner of preposterous situations, and the audience, both young and old, lap it up.”
London Theatre1: **** “Stephen Mear’s choreography is a delight to witness in the large ensemble numbers, and the production makes good use of the Olivier Theatre’s stage revolve. Overall, the show was more humorous than I had expected, and there were some laugh-out-loud moments.”
The Reviews Hub: **** “Yet a production of this scale and polish just couldn’t exist beyond the National Theatre. Lizzie Clachan’s set and costume design, Turner’s sharp and pacey direction and Stephen Mear’s choreography deliver in unison again and again, entertaining but also finding ways to surprise and delight audiences all night, particularly in the crucial conference scene that readers will know so well from Dahl’s book. A big family show to end a big year for the National Theatre.”
Culture Whisper: **** “Still, the songs, co-written by Kirkwood and Dave Malloy (music and lyrics), are fit to rival those in Tim Minchin’s Matilda. Wouldn’t It Be Nice? is anespecially funny taunt aimed directly at the parents and carers in the room, reminding them there are no refunds on their sprogs.”
Theatre Cat.com: “Lucy Kirkwood’s transformation of Dahl’s The Witches , directed by Lyndsey Turner, is glorious all the way. Dave Malloy’s music is catchy, with mischievous pastiches from Lloyd-Webber to Sondheim, and a couple of really beautiful quiet songs as well as the fun: I’d listen to a cast album in the car, especially with children. Stephen Mear’s choreography is bliss, from tap to clog to a magnificent soup dance in the hotel kitchen.”
The Witches continues to play at the National Theatre until the 27th January 2024. To book tickets click here.