We round up the reviews for Richard Bean’s play, running at the Hampstead Theatre until the 23rd November.
The Guardian: ** “This play seems like a powerful one, while the comic one contains its own pace and drama, but the two smother each other sutured together as they are.”
The Standard: **** “Contemporary parallels about insecure employment and Britain’s relationship with its European neighbours are present but not overstressed. As with other Bean plays – One Man, Two Guvnors; The Heretic – I went in clueless and came out buzzing.”
Time Out: **** “Hollingworth gives a great central performance as Donald – it’s rare to see a genuinely thoughtful and inquisitive portrait of a member of the boss class – I wonder if Bean was thinking of himself when he wrote the character, a man of working class Hull but fundamentally separated from it. Bean’s works are always strongest when there’s a sense of real emotional investment in them – not just mugging for laughs – and Reykjavik is as heartfelt a play as he’s made.”
The Arts Desk: *** “John Hollingworth’s Donald, the Cambridge Eng Lit grad who comes from fishing folk but never actually worked at sea, and who names his boats after famous authors, is excellent.”
Theatre & Tonic: *** “Richard Bean has crafted Reykjavik with great skill, blending rigorous research with sharp, realistic dialogue and a deft touch of humour. The actors deliver outstanding performances, filling the stage with talent, while Emily Burns directs with a keen sensitivity to the work’s tone, particularly enhancing its more haunting, ghost-like moments.”
WhatsOnStage: *** “This isn’t one of Bean’s finest efforts but it is watchable – it’s mostly a shame that the potential of act one isn’t followed through.”
The Reviews Hub: *** 1/2 “Reykjavik offers a compelling glimpse into a largely forgotten industry, probing essential questions about accountability and responsibility in a capitalist system that often exploits its workers. As unions continue to wane, these themes resonate and remain pertinent today, giving Reykjavik both historical significance and contemporary relevance.”
Rev Stan’s Theatre Blog: *** “It is occasionally witty and funny, which lightens the darker themes without becoming an all-out comedy. And yet, the darker narrative threads don’t really mine the associated emotional depths.”
The Telegraph: **** “This new play at the Hampstead Theatre, which superbly explores the Cod Wars during the Seventies, is a rare treat.”
West End Best Friend: **** “For the most part, however, and with some superb sets from Anna Reid, Reykjavik is a fascinating window into a forgotten and long-lost lifestyle, superbly acted, in another impressive production from Hampstead Theatre.”
The Stage: *** “Strong performances hold together this uneven and unwieldy eulogy for the Hull fishing industry.”
Theatre Vibe : Richard Bean’s plays are full of wit and rich anecdote. He writes about what he knows and in Under the Whaleback in 2003 that award winning play was about the decline of the trawler fishing industry based in Hull. In his latest play, Reykjavik he returns to this industry taking a snapshot of 1976. Each act of Reykjavik tackles his subject from a different angle but we start with Donald Claxton (John Hollingworth) who is in charge of the fleet and has lost the Graham Greene in Icelandic waters and fifteen men.”
London Theatre1: **** “A fascinating and insightful look at a chapter in modern history, the play never feels like a modern history lecture, but the story of decent people trying to make a living and suddenly finding, through no fault of their own, that their livelihoods have disappeared overnight. It is also a reminder of the fragility of life and all its elements.”
Fairy Powered Productions: **** “Under the direction of Emily Burns, the performances are first-rate. Hollingsworth’s performance as Claxton is charming and thoughtful with an edge of sleaze. The rowdy group of sailors offer the other side of the employee/employer divide. Casual labourers with the knowledge that at any moment their lives could end in the icy depths of the North Sea, but with huge heart and a few laughs along the way. “Reykjavik” is a sweetly melancholic portrait of the fishing industry and the community at the centre of it. It’s heartfelt and informative, and most of all extremely enjoyable.”
British Theatre Guide: “Emily Burns focuses her production on character as she handles this mixture of moods, with Oliver Fenwick’s lighting and Christopher Shutt’s sound making important contributions. Sea shanties frame the play which celebrates a past workforce: the hotel bar’s television even gives us the Althing vote that extended Iceland’s exclusive fishing zone to 200 miles, so effectively tolling the death knell of Hull’s Distant Water fleet.”
To book tickets visit: https://www.hampsteadtheatre.com/whats-on/2024/reykjavik