The inaugural production from the Welsh National Theatre is currently playing at the Kingston-Upon-Thames based theatre until the 28th March.
Broadway World: **** “Our Town is a delicately nuanced and beautifully realised production and Sheen and his new company deserve every future success. It is the most promising of beginnings.”
Time Out: **** “Having a Welsh cast doesn’t automatically make a play jollier. The change in tone is a choice, and a choice surely designed to reflect fondly on Wales and Welsh community. There will be purists who might say this is sentimentalising a postmodern masterpiece. But I’d say Our Town can take it. And it’s impressive and undeniable that the Welsh National Theatre has stamped itself on a classic with its very first production. Wales is lucky to have Michael Sheen, who has turned his back on Hollywood to launch his new theatre company. And if the WNT productions keep transferring this way, then we’re lucky to have him too.”
Time & Leisure.co.uk: “It is a moving, thoughtful staging of a classic play, one that reminds us that life, in all its ordinary beauty, is happening right now. And it is no dress rehearsal.”
All That Dazzles: **** “Beautifully made, smartly paced, and full of craft. And as a launch statement for Welsh National Theatre’s ambitions, it’s a heartfelt one: pay attention, love your people, don’t sleepwalk through your own life.”
West End Best Friend: ***** “This is a stunning beginning for the Welsh National Theatre and testimony to the power of a generation of Welsh actors. Let us hope they make the journey into England regularly, in addition to their vital work in Wales.”
Theatre South East: “There was a striking simplicity to the staging of this production and the use of multiple planks of wood which were creatively utilised throughout the first Act to set the scene of Grover’s Corners, its people and even its Churches. Later, in the play the planks transformed further to create a clock with the Stage Manager centred within the turns of time.”
The Reviews Hub: ***** “Audience members unfamiliar with the play might be reminded of It’s a Wonderful Life with its warm celebration of ordinary life. But Wilder avoids the latter’s sentimentality by giving Our Town a certain pleasing astringency. Not only are we always reminded of the brevity of life and the certainty of death, but the character of the alcoholic organist, Simon Stimson (a moving Rhys Warrington), also gestures to something else.”
LouReviews: ***** “In all, a magical production with a high-quality sheen – no pun intended! Our Town teaches us to stop and look at the world and each other, because our little lives are over much too soon.”
The Upcoming: **** “Our Town is a beautiful celebration of life and a chance to see Michael Sheen at his best. It’s very much an all-rounder with depth and humour and joy and sorrow, presented in perhaps the best possible way.”
First Night Magazine: **** “Not everyone will be fond of a show with so little action in it. And those unacquainted with this classic should be aware of its marmite appeal. However, it’s difficult to resist the introspective charm of a 1930s piece that resonates as loudly now as it probably did when it first premiered. You may find it stagnant at some points. Perhaps, too many — but even so, this show is as much their town as it is ours, and everyone’s.”
Theatre Weekly: ***** “Michael Sheen is a commanding and witty presence as Stage Manager, our chief storyteller and guide. He is clearly in his element, interjecting the action with quips and reflections. There are standout performances from Yasemin Özdemir as the bright and exuberant Emily and Peter Devlin as her down‑to‑earth young husband George Gibbs.”
Radio Times: **** “Overall, Our Town is a gorgeous life-affirming look into the worlds of ordinary people, and how much there is to be learned there. And what I’ve learned is to keep a very close eye on what the Welsh National Theatre does next.”
To book tickets visit: https://www.rosetheatre.org/whats-on/our-town-m74x