Discover what is being said about Linette Linton’s production of Lynn Nottage‘s play, running at the theatre until the 9th August.
WhatsOnStage: ***** “But it’s Wiley who holds the heart of the play, and she does so with remarkable subtlety. Her Esther is both innocent and resourceful, a woman who dreams of owning a beauty parlour where Black women can be treated like queens and is prepared to work until she fulfils her ambition. She’s a mass of contradictions, constantly embarrassed when her friends tease her about sex and love, yet so full of longing it seems to consume her.”
The Guardian: ***** “The acting is incredibly fine: Linton’s great gift is to see people from every angle. Nottage’s play began when she found a photo of her seamstress great-grandmother and wanted to imagine her story. This tremendous production and Wiley’s superb performance fill out a life unknown.”
The Telegraph: ***** “The Handmaid’s Tale’s Samira Wiley is superb in a magnificent revival of Intimate Apparel.”
Broadway World: **** “But just as the staging risks overembellishing the sentimentalism, Samira Wiley grounds the production in a subtle powerhouse performance. Her Esther is restrained, finding delicacy in the smallest glance, the tiniest flicker of a gesture. Her eyes are heavy with exhaustion but the glint of Esther’s ambition lovingly sparkles through.”
London Theatre.co.uk: ***** “The production is riveting in its intimate study of the minutiae of women’s lives, and in exploring what constitutes value, self-worth, acceptance, family, and love, with various threads neatly tied up in a powerful second half. This is a perfectly crafted show: not a stitch wasted.”
Theatre Weekly: ***** “Linton’s direction is superbly paced, with the second act tighter than the first, leaving the audience breathless. The production’s rhythm never falters, and the emotional stakes rise as each scene unfolds. Alex Berry’s set and costume design evokes the era with understated grace, while Jai Morjaria’s lighting and George Dennis’s sound design add texture and atmosphere.”
The Standard: **** “Nottage’s dialogue is elegant and succinct, alive to the nuance of George’s Barbadian idiom and Esther’s North Carolina decorousness. George is “sturdy enough”, she shyly tells a nosy questioner. The play is very funny and in some ways romantic but ultimately grounded in harsh reality. Linton’s production serves the material, and the cast, extremely well. And she gets a revelatory performance out of Samira Wiley. Did I mention that already?”
The Stage: **** “Lynette Linton’s richly textured revival of Lynn Nottage’s 2003 play is charming and poignant.”
To book tickets visit: https://www.donmarwarehouse.com/whats-on/34/by-lynn-nottage/intimate-apparel