We round up the reviews for Lindsay Posner’s production, starring Tamsin Greig.
Broadway World: *** “Rattigan’s masterpiece endures because he avoids factionalism, a balance that Posner eruditely draws out. Nobody is wholly guilty or innocent – an idea that echoes through decades. It may look out of date, but it feels timeless.”
The Arts Desk: **** “Greig, as ever, is second-to-none in her ability to communicate a soul in torment. As she rolls the phrase “angry Cupid” around in her mouth, shifting along the way from laughter to tears, there is little doubt that you’re in the hands of a supreme talent, even if the price paid is an occasional matronliness that deprives the play of some of its heat.”
The Upcoming: **** “Greig’s portrayal of Hester is incredibly measured, mastering her crumbling mental turmoil, restless fiery passion and deadpan dark humour (she vacantly strolls onto stage moments after her attempt, casually asking for a cigarette).”
West End Best Friend: **** “This production doesn’t try to reframe the play for a modern audience. Instead, it trusts the material and the audience enough to sit in its discomfort. The result is a moving, restrained, and quietly devastating piece of theatre. In a world still grappling with identity, duty, and desire, The Deep Blue Sea feels as relevant as ever, a stark reminder that love is rarely tidy, and even less often enough.”
WhatsOnStage: ***** “Director Lindsay Posner offers a straightforward but sensitive production, designed by Peter McKintosh in an all too convincing boarding house, with faded walls, battered furniture and dingy light.”
London Pub Theatres Magazine: **** “It is however, the quality of the direction which really makes this production fly. Lindsay Posner knows, really knows, what he’s doing and the pregnant pauses are masterly as, repeatedly, one character says something and everyone else simply looks stunned, delighted, horrified, outraged or whatever as it sinks in before anyone else speaks. This often creates rueful, very effective, comedy which is not something one necessarily associates with this play. But it works perfectly.”
The Standard: **** “Fraser is also very good. He shows us Freddie’s charm as well as his blithe carelessness and he’s very convincing as a drunk. Farrell and Lynch are trustworthy as ever in neatly drawn parts. The roles of the landlady Mrs Elton (Selina Cadell) and the young couple upstairs are less convincing – they’re very much an upper-middle class man’s idea of what “ordinary” people are like.”
The Reviews Hub: **** “Director Lindsay Posner’s production, transferring from its 2024 run at Bath’s Ustinov Theatre, does manage to pepper moments of levity, gently twisting line readings and sardonic performances, allowing the tension of Hester’s despair some counterbalance.”
The Stage: *** “Tamsin Greig’s striking and subtle central performance elevates this uneven production of Rattigan’s classic.”
London Unattached: **** 1/2 “Lindsay Posner’s direction creates a surprisingly funny version of The Deep Blue Sea, humour drawn out of some of the play’s darkest moments. The first half is brilliantly performed by a talented ensemble cast, the door to the one room in which the entire play takes place constantly revolving as neighbours and visitors enter and exit, the complexities of their relationships gradually bubbling towards the surface.”
All That Dazzles: *** “The highlight of the night is Finbar Lynch as Kurt Miller, the struck-off Doctor who lives above. If Hester is caught between the Devil and the deep blue sea, then Miller is her angel. Dismissed and jailed for his homosexuality (never explicitly stated in the play, but we know), Mr Miller finds a friend in Hester, and Hester finds a saviour. Finbar Lynch’s portrayal of this man is fantastically nuanced; he captures his wit, warmth, and cruelty, and every line reveals another layer.”
The Deep Blue Sea continues to play at the Theatre Royal Haymarket until the 21st June.