The production continues to run until the 31st October. We take a look at how critics have been reacting to it.
WhatsOnStage: “But above all this is a production that thrives on its performances. Even the smallest scene is made consistently vivid and real. O’Connor is absolutely compelling as Joe. He is one of the few actors who you can imagine both as a violinist and as a boxer, and he exhibits both possibilities: seething with anger and frustration in the boxing sections, longing to make something of himself, to make people see him and respect him; quietly introspective when he thinks of music or talks of another life.”
The Stage: “Josh O’Connor heads a prestigious cast in this rare revival of Clifford Odets’ symbolism-heavy sports drama.”
The Guardian: “With Golden Boy, Odets moved from agitprop to melodrama and the play doesn’t fully succeed as a greater social tragedy either, even with the pointed observations of Stanley Townsend as Joe’s father and Richard Fleeshman as Joe’s union man brother. It’s a play heavy with death – even a violin case is called a coffin for a baby – and we hear a bloodlust roar of the crowd for Joe’s fights. But you don’t sense those other lives, across a city and a nation brought to its knees.”
The Standard: “Indeed, for a contemporary audience, the heightened dialogue and the sweat-and-whiskey fug of Golden Boy threaten constantly to slip into parody, but Yates and his cast hold it together with sheer conviction and good faith. O’Connor’s presence on the fight card means the Almeida run is pretty much sold out. Let’s hope it transfers. Because if you embrace it, this show is a knockout.”
The Reviews Hub: “While its story has much to say, there’s nothing particularly original in its moral or the way it’s been retold. The excellent cast delivers a fine rendition of Odets’s play, but can’t disguise that it is no lasting classic of the era. This boxing drama doesn’t so much pull its punches as fail to land its killer blows.”
London Theatre.co.uk: “Odets’s script is certainly not subtle about the strain of living within America’s capitalist society. As Joe proclaims: “I want to live, and in this country that means earning some money. I don’t want to live a life on the edges.” Yet director Sam Yates makes a virtue of this with some breathtaking dramatic techniques, such as a string quartet sporadically revealed at the back of Rosanna Vize’s drab 1930s set (which spans Joe’s home, Tom’s office, and a boxing gym) when Joe is drawn back to his true passion, or the Jamie Lloyd-esque camera embedded within the punching bag, so we spin as O’Connor athletically lands heavy blows.”
Time Out: “A hit in its day, Golden Boy will probably only ever be revived fitfully because it was written smack bang in the middle of a period that yielded the greatest stage tragedies in American history… and it’s not quite one of them. But Yates’ string-drenched production makes a virtue of Odets’ symbolism, and a tip-top cast see it home. A historically important play, but this revival makes it feel thoroughly alive.”
All That Dazzles: “Time and time again, Almeida Theatre have proven what a reliable and consistent production house they are, with multiple transfers to the West End and New York in recent years, and no shortage of four and five stars for the majority of their productions a testament to their ability. Well, they have struck gold once again with Golden Boy.”
Broadway World: “But, despite all that talent on stage and a superstar draw on the playbill, the production fails to establish a place in our hearts, the care we need to feel for those lost in capitalism’s seductive grip just not breaching the fourth wall. Absent that, you’re just left with another bout of ear abuse on the Tube home and an enhanced admiration for Raging Bull, Rocky and Creed.”
British Theatre Guide: “Brilliant direction, brilliant staging, brilliant ensemble acting, Clifford Odets’s 1937 Depression era play I suspect sold out on lead ‘golden boy’ Josh O’Connor’s fame and reputation, but look at the rest of the cast: Daniel Mays, Stanley Townsend, Zubin Varla, Hayley Squires. Richard Fleeshman and Nicholas Woodeson in supporting roles, as are David Ganly, Patrick Martins Jason Barnett, Oliver Ryan.”
West End Best Friend: “At its heart, Golden Boy asks some big and important questions – questions that many artists, perhaps especially today, continue to battle with. Is financial security worth giving up on your dreams? Who are we if not our hopes and ambitions? And perhaps most tragically, what happens when you finally get everything you thought you wanted, only to realise you’ve lost the person you were along the way?”
To find out more visit: https://almeida.co.uk/whats-on/golden-boy/