We find out what critics have been making of Jack Holden’s adaptation of Alan Hollinghurst’s 2004 Booker prize winner.
The Guardian: *** “Michael Grandage brings fantastic directorial polish and pace and the cast are excellent, from Alistair Nwachukwu as Nick’s wryly funny, working-class boyfriend Leo, to Arty Froushan as the uber-rich Wani, who is engaged to a woman but in a secret relationship with Nick.”
The Arts Desk: **** “People will surely take the ending in very different ways; I look forward to this production’s inevitable transfer to ponder its very real power anew.”
Everything Theatre: **** “In the end, The Line of Beauty feels like an accusation about a society obsessed with appearances. The choice to emphasise the effects on a group of characters we do not feel affiliated with helps us understand this microcosm of ignorance to a devastation that swept across the world. Grandage’s delivery of this well-executed adaptation leaves us with an unsettling feeling, as these corrupt, self-important, bigoted characters are an exact replica of the ones that led the country to its death at the time; something that feels alarmingly familiar in the current political landscape.”
City Am: **** “Set against the backdrop of Thatcher and a Britain whose moral compass is skewed between the socially progressive codes of post-legalisation and the dregs of stigma that still existed in the day, The Line of Beauty is nevertheless a beautiful and often touching frivolity.”
WhatsOnStage: **** “While it may be a play you admire more than one that wholly moves you, there’s no question that Holden has achieved something remarkable: transforming an intricate, interior novel into a piece of theatre that feels both intelligent and accessible. You have to applaud him for taking on a daunting task and making a fine, thoughtful success of it.”
The Standard: **** ” The production is also timely, part of a current reappraisal of all that was great and all that was ghastly about the 80s.”
The Telegraph: **** “The Almeida’s slick and poised production whirls us back to Thatcher’s Britain.”
The FT: **** “It’s sketchy to begin with: hard to compress a huge novel in which so much nuance is delivered through Hollinghurst’s exquisite style. But Grandage makes key moments ring out like telling memories and the second half, drawing towards 1987 and played in a much more minor key, becomes increasingly elegiac and moving.”
London Theatre.co.uk: **** “o capture the soul of a novel on stage is quite an art, especially when the source is as rich and luminous as Alan Hollinghurst’s 2004 Booker Prize–winning The Line of Beauty. The coming-of-age story, centred on Oxford graduate Nick Guest and steeped in class divisions, politics, and hedonistic excess, is a vivid panorama of the 1980s. Jack Holden’s adaptation may only present a distilled overview of Hollinghurst’s literary epic, but the scenes he pulls out and lays on the stage still tingle with ache and allure.”
The Stage: *** “Adroit adaptation of Alan Hollinghurst’s Booker-winning novel.”
Broadway World: *** “In the show’s programme, director Grandage speaks about many of the team’s personal experience of and connection to the AIDS crisis. In some ways, The Line of Beauty does the crucial job of introducing new generations to the realities of the crisis in UK history. This really is a story that grapples with issues of hypocrisy in the worlds of politics and sexuality, as well as the nuances of the British class system – there are moments of brilliance, but it does feel like the show could have engaged with the relationship between past and present more dynamically.”
The Independent: **** “Alan Hollinghurst’s classic tale of aesthetic beauty and moral ugliness is elegantly adapted for the stage.”
London Theatre 1: *** “The Line of Beauty is a tough play with a plethora of characters fighting to dominate each scene and each with a big story to tell. Director Michael Grandage manages to control his unruly crew and maintain the play’s fluidity, all the while allocating time for each character to push through the sometimes inane dialogue and celebrate the essence of their being. For all its flaws, The Line of Beauty is a play that needs to be digested and then warrants a second viewing.”
British Theatre Guide: “This entertaining, well-performed, believable, sometimes moving glimpse of a harsh period of British history still has important things to say about the world we live in.”
Time Out: *** “This Michael Grandage-directed adaptation of Alan Hollinghurst’s classic novel of Thatcherite Britain is a hugely impressive piece of storytelling.”
All That Dazzles: **** “The Line Of Beauty is a masterful portrayal of Thatcher’s Britain, allowing for a snapshot of a time more than 40 years ago and comparing how things have progressed, as well as some comparisons to prejudices still prevalent in society. From Holden’s writing to Grandage’s direction to the sensational cast bringing the story to life, the level of skill on display here is astounding to see.”
The Reviews Hub: **** “Director Michael Grandage’s stylish production is complemented by the striking costumes by Christopher Oram: complicated jumpers for Catherine, short shorts for Gerald (Charles Edwards) when on holiday in France, a spaghetti vest for Leo, and, at the end, a pair of gaudy buckle loafers for Nick. If the clothes don’t exactly scream the 80s, the music choices (Frankie Goes To Hollywood, The Communards) help locate the play in the decade of excess, as Thatcher’s deregulation of the Stock Exchange allows the rich to become ever richer.”
The Line of Beauty continues to play at the Almeida Theatre until the 29th November.