Arden of Faversham NYC Reviews and Tickets
About the Show
Production Covid-19 Safety ProtocolsMember Reviews (124)
See it if Good story but inconsistent acting. Good direction.
Don't see it if Costumes were fair. Good writing and funny.
See it if It's a comedy. Definitely not a whodunit. Entertaining and Not too long.
Don't see it if The language is off-putting coming out in American. So convoluted that the acting looks unatural.
See it if you don't mind old English spoken with American accent (what?!). More of a comedy of errors than a thriller. Still enjoyable.
Don't see it if At 1hr 45 min including intermission, it would have been better as a 1 act.
See it if you like elegant, sophisticated productns (w/some slapstick!). Elevated (but comprehensible) language. Fun origins IRL! Murder most foul!
Don't see it if you want deep meaning as well as entertainment. Attempt at feminism falls flat. Or you want thriller or comedy; hybrid not always successful Read more
See it if you want to see an unknown Elizabethan play maybe by Shakespeare, enjoy Red Bull's affinity for 'blood and guts' dramas,
Don't see it if you don't like Elizabethan drama, scheming wives and lovers, overbearing husbands, unclear views of good vs. bad, grim tales with some humor
See it if you like to see a 16th century play with dark humor and some violence. I enjoyed the interaction of the various murderous plots.Good acting.
Don't see it if you don't like violence on stage. There are several murders done on stage with some humorous and some messy doings. Read more
See it if Elizabethan murder plot comedy, but not slap-sticky / kitschy enough to be really funny. A few chuckles from the crowds. Great set of actors
Don't see it if Plot doesn't fully work, love relations don't seem fully believable, not quite funny, very gendered. 2 hours; 1 intermission. Read more
See it if you like set pieces with predictable narrative done well.
Don't see it if you want to be surprised. i saw it early and the lead actress had not found her consistent voice. costumes? ugh
Critic Reviews (8)
"It's no spoiler to reveal that Arden gets it in the end. Even though it doesn't seem likely that much else of this true crime thriller is actually true, the play is ultimately less about the ending than the tomfoolery that gets us there. Whether Shakespeare wrote it or not, Faversham deserves a visit."
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"It all builds to a corpse-laden climax, courtesy of a poisoned, lethal-to-the-touch crucifix; that, at least, is something you don't see every day."
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“ ‘Arden of Faversham’ is rarely done in the United States, and its mysterious authorial origins tend to eclipse its stageworthiness. Even a schizophrenic production like the current one, though, shows that this domestic tragedy potentially offers a bloody good time.”
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“The Red Bull presentation is a welcome opportunity to see ‘Arden of Faversham.’ Indeed, it may be the only opportunity to see it in this lifetime. If that isn’t a strong enough incentive, I’d like to know what is.”
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The problem with this production is that although the characters’ behavior is utterly outrageous on the verge of satire, Berger has directed in so flat and bland a style that shocking lines that should get embarrassed laughter fail to make any impression. Has Berger directed the play absolutely straight knowing that his audience is unlikely to be familiar with it? It would be more fun and rewarding if was as over-the-top as the murderers’ plotting.
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“This ’Arden of Faversham ’ remains the scandalous, sensationalist comedy-drama it was intended to be.”
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“The production tried to be too many things to too many different people and thus came off not as good as it could have been, almost as if was done by committee...There is historic relevance to the play, and for that reason alone I urge you to see it as it doesn’t often find itself a stage.”
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“The verse-speaking is fine, particularly Roach in a key soliloquy and the comedy is plentiful. But the constant seesawing of alliances eventually becomes wearying, and the final moments are the weakest...Still, ‘Arden’ is staged so rarely that even a production with flaws is worth a visit.”
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