We round up the reviews for Joel Tan’s play, running at the Royal Court Theatre until the 24th May.
Broadway World: **** “If the bitty nature of the structure, and a loss of subtlety when the action switches to China in the second half and the financial muscles of a historically wronged people are flexed, pulls the production back a little, this is still a fine and important contribution to a growing debate, and not one confined to museology. If Hamilton leaves you humming the refrain “Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?”, Scenes From A Repatriation expands a debate often confined to The Parthenon Marbles and artworks acquired by the Nazis.”
The Guardian: **** “This is innovative theatre, shining with intelligence, which brings richness to our cultural tussle with the problem of ancient statues and their rightful place in the world.”
WhatsOnStage: *** “For all its knottiness, though, this is an ambitious piece, unusual and challenging. It is exactly the kind of play you want the Royal Court to present in this space.”
Time Out: *** “Where it tries to be meaty, though, too often it’s flabby. In glimpses you can see the amazing thing this play almost is: an exchange between an imprisoned Chinese artist and a captor; the time slippages and ghostly presences. The messy form and the ambitious scope are things to admire. It just needs a lot more chipping and sculpting to find its final form.”
All That Dazzles: **** “Somehow as intellectually accessible as it is challenging, and as willing to allow interpretation as it is concrete in the points it raises, Scenes from a Repatriation gives voice to many continually pressing concerns both at home and overseas, and demonstrates just how essential, and just how dangerous, acting for what you know is right can be.”
The Reviews Hub: **** 1/2 ” a bold, imaginative piece of theatre. Using the conceit of an exiled figure, it opens up a complex dialogue on history, identity, and cultural ownership with intelligence and heart.”
Everything Theatre: ***** “The raw script looks rather academic and opaque on paper (the Royal Court publish their new plays) but the words crackle into a roaring furnace like tinder after a drought. All of human life is here, stretching through centuries and across continents: colonialism, democracy, loss, protest, social-climbing, indifference, racism, sexism, you name it. If it sounds like it’s too much, it’s not. The writing is insightful and concise, rendering many scenes simultaneously touching, shocking and funny. This is no abstract indulgence: Tan guides you tenderly on a journey much like that of the statue itself. It is a journey you will be glad you took.”
Theatre & Tonic: **** “Scenes from a Repatriation is an extraordinary show, and one that reminded me of why I love theatre and the power of a good script, cast and direction. There is so much to be said on the subject, and this is just the start.”
The Stage: ***** “Powerful drama of cultural theft and generational trauma”
West End Best Friend: **** “Scenes from a Repatriation is an impressive and, at times, uncomfortable investigation into the complex world of cultural artefacts and their repatriation. One-character remarks “All of human history? It’s basically people taking things from each other” but Joel Tan’s new play shows that it really isn’t that simple”
To book tickets visit: https://royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/scenes-from-a-repatriation/