We take a look at how critics have been reacting to this production of Maxim Gorky’s play.
Broadway World: **** “Occupying The National Theatre’s largest house for a couple of months comes with some responsibility – a near three hour exercise in rural repartee can’t be enough. But, as I opened my WhatsApp on the phone on the way home (there’s no escape, even underground), I realised that the little green square with sanded off corners was today’s dacha.”
The Stage: *** “Memorable performances animate this sweeping but unfocused adaptation of Maxim Gorky’s satire set in the last days of the Russian Empire.”
London Theatre.co.uk: *** “Is it a little insufferable? Well, of course. There’s navel-gazing aplenty, with constant talk of actors and writers. But that’s also the point. McKintosh’s set stretches summer into long, carefree days, with water to paddle in and an expanse of green to roam. Better, perhaps, to forget it all and simply enjoy ourselves, for as we’re told, “the life of any thinking person is a tragedy”.”
The Guardian: *** “Summerfolk takes on more texture after the interval, as the set opens up to a glorious symbolic forest, a kind of Arden in imperial Russia. There is more emotional drama between couples and moments when the satire gleams, such as when the poet of the group, Kaleria (Doon Mackichan), dismisses talk of suffering and hardship for people beyond her privileged class by exclaiming: “What about poetry?””
Time Out: *** “Summerfolk is a fine play but it’s the moments where this production feels less like Chekhov – when it’s broader or angrier – that it really distinguishes itself.”
WhatOnStage: **** “Gorky is painting a picture of a careless society, bound to be destroyed. His play speaks just as loudly to our careless times, even if it does so at considerable, sprawling length.”
The Telegraph: **** “The rarely staged Summerfolk offers a vision of Tsarist Russia to provide a timely sense of collective dread.”
The Reviews Hub: ** 1/2 “The Raines’ adaptation uses contemporary language, which jars against McKintosh’s detailed scenario creation, and is frequently quite basic and crass, taking opportunities to poke fun at the characters we’re never encouraged to like instead of trying to understand them. “
The Arts Desk: **** “Speed serves the comedy well under Robert Hastie’s beautifully modulated direction, with characters constantly on the move, forming and dissolving small conversational groups, rarely at rest on the Olivier stage. This is a sprawling ensemble piece, featuring 23 well-distinguished characters, all of them dissatisfied with life, either longing for love or desperate to escape unsatisfactory marriages.”
Radio Times: **** “All in all, Summerfolk is a prime example of what the National Theatre excels at: lush revivals giving older epics a breath of fresh air. This production is a relevant, engaging and hilarious night for both seasoned and novice theatre-goers; plus, it’s worth seeing it for the set alone.”
West End Wilma: ***** “The fast pace, combined with the richness of the overlapping storylines, kept me fully engaged from start to finish. What could have felt long instead feels immersive, drawing you completely into this world of privilege, frustration and emotional longing.”
Summerfolk continues to play until the 29th April.