We round up the reviews for the one man show about facing loss as a teenager.
Broadway World: **** “While it’s a slow and steady build, the payoff is remarkably profound. The resolution, however, might be a bit hasty compared to the rest, and a longer running time would allow Maddigan to dig into the aftermath of the events more firmly.”
Everything Theatre: ***** “Adam Jefferys’ sympathetic lighting design has blinding spotlights and glitching green fluorescent tubes emphasising the harsh instability of bruising experience, as Maddigan machine-guns the audience with a salvo of foul behaviour and confused emotions.”
All That Dazzles: **** “The Olive Boy isn’t a perfect show, but it’s a remarkably honest one. It doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, and it never tries to make grief digestible.”
A Young (ish) Perspective: *** 1/2 “For all its lack of subtlety, the show succeeds through its charisma. Maddigan delivers a dynamic, active performance that commands the stage. Whether whispering an embarrassing nickname to an audience member or high-fiving the front row to celebrate securing a date, everyone is dragged into Ollie’s story. The titular olives become a recurring symbol: a loving mother-son nickname; a snack between shots at a drug-infused house party; and the distended skin of a newly discovered corpse.”
West End Wilma: *** “Ultimately, while I appreciate the honesty and vulnerability at the heart of The Olive Boy, it didn’t linger with me after leaving the theatre. By the time I reached the bus stop, the experience had already begun to fade, leaving behind only a faint, olive-tinted impression.”
My View From the Stalls: ***** “The reality is that everyone will relate to this performance in one way or another. I highly recommend catching it while you can. However, if you can’t catch this run, I do not think this is the last we will be seeing of The Olive Boy.”
London Theatre 1: ***** “This is one of those shows that portrays the ‘two faces’ of theatre – tragedy and comedy – with equal force and conviction. There’s nothing in the show that shouldn’t be there, and there’s nothing that isn’t there that it would benefit from if it were included. A tour de force from Ollie Maddigan, whose message of openness and heartfelt honesty is both refreshing and much needed in a world that seems to be getting significantly bleaker by the day. Thoughtful, engaging and compelling from start to finish.”
The Reviews Hub: **** 1/2 “The journey of discovery into who Olive Boy really is, and how much he is really hurting, helps illustrate how some young people’s aggressive behaviour and antisocial conduct are a mask, hiding the sensitivity they are led to believe they must never show. While Maddigan draws us in with raucous, crass comedy, that outer shell is whittled away, revealing a piece of writing and performance that is supremely human in its portrayal of love and grief.”
London Theatre Reviews: ***** “The Olive Boy comes across as a labour of love. A truly personal piece dripping with emotion that quite obviously means an awful lot to Maddigan. Every member of the production team seems to have given it their all, and I would say that it pays off in spades.”
Theatre & Tonic: ***** “Maddigan talks to the audience at the end of the performance, telling us that we should never shy away from talking about our grief, it’s the one thing that everybody will experience at some point so the one thing that can definitely unite us. It’s incredibly powerful. We’re only a couple of weeks into January, and this is a performance that will be hard to beat this year. The Olive Boy manages to be both laugh-out-loud funny and absolutely devastating. It’s something that anybody who has ever experienced love should go and see.”
The Spy in the Stalls: **** “‘The Olive Boy’ will make you laugh and cry, delivering a punchy yet poignant reflection on life after loss. Maddigan’s talent is unmistakable so catch him while you can!”
The Olive Boy continues to play at the Southwark Playhouse until the 31st January.