We check out what is being said about this revival of Tom Stoppard’s play.
The Guardian: **** “In one weary line about the fate of an artist’s career, Henry speaks about how people always “prefer the early stuff”. He could be speaking for Stoppard and this gem.”
London Theatre.co.uk: **** “Webster beautifully punctuates his production with pop music (a record player sits on the edge of the stage) – sometimes to comic effect, as when Henry and the stagehands do the mashed potato to “Mr Blue Sky”, but always illuminating character and emotion.”
The Independent: *** “James McArdle and Bel Powley star in the Old Vic’s revival of Stoppard’s tricksy, self-parodical play, but it feels dated to watch middle class couples being beastly to each other in beige living rooms.”
WhatsOnStage: **** “All in all, then, this is a sophisticated and enjoyable revival of a play that still, beneath its beautiful veneer of humour, has the heft to raise troubling and endlessly fascinating questions about the state of the human heart and how we describe it.”
The Arts Desk: **** “Whether brilliantly delivering Stoppard’s great analogy between writing and cricket, or bringing tears to eyes with Henry’s heartfelt testament to true love, McArdle is this production’s secret weapon, its real thing. “
iNews: *** “James McCardle and Bel Powley are terrific in Tom Stoppard’s wordy but hollow 1982 rumination upon real life versus fiction.”
Time Out: **** “Webster provides a steadying hand as director and Powley is excellent as a woman who obstinately refuses to become jaded. But this absolutely would not work without McArdle, whose combination of louche intellectualism, ebullient physicality and startling inner seriousness is just perfect – he plays the complicated role like some sort of esoteric string instrument. If it’s ambiguous exactly what the title of the play may refer to, there’s little denying that James McArdle is the real thing.”
Evening Standard: **** “Tom Stoppard’s wittily layered drama about truth in relationships and art won Best Play at the Evening Standard Awards in 1982. Though some of the social attitudes and trappings show their vintage – male chauvinism and trimphones, anyone? – the script’s intelligence and passion shine through. Max Webster’s elegant production even manages a deft topspin of modernity.”
Theatre Vibe: “You can still enjoy Stoppardian wit and one liners and the audience clapped appreciatively but I felt a certain staleness at references to digital watches and protests at nuclear weapon bases. Henry’s inability to summon up more intellectually acceptable music for his Desert Island Disc’s appearance than Herman and the Hermits and The Righteous Brothers will have the Millennials reaching for their I watches and Google searches. Infidelity is so much more detectable in the days of mobile phones. The Real Thing feels dated.”
London Unattached: “As relationships unfold and unravel, Stoppard’s sharp dialogue and intricate storytelling ask a timeless question: what is “the real thing” in love? Is it a genuine connection or just a crafted performance? The beauty of stories centred around love and relationships is their enduring relevance. This production stays true to its roots while delivering an exhilarating contemporary makeover, proving that some questions about the heart never go out of style.”
The FT: **** “McArdle is brilliant as the self-absorbed Henry, handling the script’s handbrake turns with scintillating precision while letting us see the vulnerability beneath. Bel Powley has a lovely, lithe quality as the impetuous Annie, who gradually carves out her own sense of self.”
London Theatre 1: **** “It’s a compellingly fraught and intense encounter reminiscent of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? The Real Thing is very much ado about something and moves through, as it were, The French Lieutenant’s Woman via Les Liaisons Dangereuses to Pinter’s Betrayal. As if this were not enough it also features an incredible soundtrack that not only gives the show a musical dimension, but the choices exemplify the dilemmas being acted out before us.”
The Real Thing continues to play at the Old Vic Theatre until the 26th October.