Confusions NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (24)
See it if You would like 5 clever comedic skits with relationship humor and slapstick.
Don't see it if You don't enjoy British humor.
See it if Best ensemble acting around! Well directed, touching, insightful and entertaining. Very funny, too!
Don't see it if . The excellent Alan Ayckbourn is not to your taste.
See it if you like to laugh uncontrollably.
Don't see it if you insist that theater all be profound and serious.
See it if Liek short plays that give you great character depth quickly. Enjoy British silly humor.
Don't see it if Don't like short plays. I loved the first and the last worth seeing for those alone. The third one was very clever I enjoyed the timing.
See it if you like seeing talented actors play multiple parts very well. Well directed with clever scene changes.
Don't see it if you want to see a full-length play. These are five one acts. First two pieces were very entertaining. Other three were almost as good.
See it if You like Aychbourn and know what to expect- some funny scenes, stock characters, cartoonish acting. Still two out of five are quite funny.
Don't see it if You've seen enough Britcoms. It's fun to see the actors in many different roles but still the material is rather thin.
See it if you like farce and silliness. Aykbourn's commentary on (mis)communications and uneven relationships is relevant and, at times, hysterical.
Don't see it if you aren't a fan of British style humour.
See it if You're clear that light fare with a dark undertow of unhappy relationships, served up w some cool structural conceits is worth your time.
Don't see it if You want to be wowed. But Ayckbourn is clear-eyed about his message & how to present it with admirable professionalism.
Critic Reviews (30)
"'Confusions' consists of five playlets…They mostly hit their marks with only one major misfire…Ayckbourn’s direction is well-paced and unobtrusive…Except for 'A Talk in the Park,' Ayckbourn keeps the audience chuckling throughout. His humor is not side-splitting, but it is consistent and his well-drawn characters keep us engaged. Situations are sometimes contrived but we hardly notice. He has a gift for making the outrageous seem like a matter of course."
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"The splendid cast plays many parts...Ayckbourn, with the precision of a brain surgeon, has created a collection of characters whose communication is not communication at all. It is myopic speech-o-fying at its best...If we are smart, we will see ourselves as compatriots of this lot and leave considering our own lives and relationships. If not, we will simply leave the theatre talking about what a clever writer that is Ayckbourn. Which sounds better to you?"
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"This critic was quite frankly quite bored...It all seems just too dated and irrelevant...While it is therapeutic to laugh at ourselves and our foibles, there needs to be some other payoff to two hours and fifteen minutes of tom foolery. Under Mr. Ayckbourn’s careful direction, the ensemble cast is brilliant and does its individual and collective best to breathe new life into these five plays. It is the vintage of the plays and not the craft of these fine actors that weigh down the effort."
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"Much like watching a Neil Simon comedy of the same era, seeing these comedies about marital dysfunction, adultery, male chauvinism, romantic disappointment, and related subjects—mostly about women getting the short end of the stick—allows us to compare attitudes of those times with ours...Mildly enjoyable as the plays are (the laughs are mainly of the chuckle variety), the chief reason to see them is the marvelous comic versatility of the five-member ensemble."
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"Ayckbourn rarely falls below a certain laugh level. Many of his rib-tickling jokes—and the situations from which he derives them—involve rancorous marrieds. That’s the case with two of the five one-acts stuffing this jolly evening…Ayckbourn, a rare playwright who knows exactly how to direct his own work, does just that with endlessly skilled actors."
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"In play after pensive, droll and acid play, Ayckbourn anatomizes how we fail to understand and trust our lovers and friends...'Confusions' is a series of five one-acts. Several of the vignettes are loosely interlinked...Ayckbourn directs with a reliance on vivid performances, evocative costumes and cheap furnishings. The actors he has assembled are gutsy and supple...What’s most interesting is the persistence and evolution of Ayckbourn’s themes and interests."
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"The structure of 'Confusions' is so simple and ingenious, you wonder why it’s not used more often…It allows the characters to expand and surprise us, and, this being Ayckbourn, make us laugh. A lot…It helps that the actors are all splendid, changing their appearances and characterizations from episode to episode...Ayckbourn’s smart, funny variations on the battle of the sexes are forever fresh, and 'Confusions' solidifies his reputation as a master observer of human foibles."
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"Hysterical yet thoughtful theater…'Confusions' succeeds on many levels. The actors’ comedic timing and moment-to-moment dramatic skill inspired by the director/playwright never lose energy, substance or intention. The artistic design, the order of the plays in the program, the staging, sets and props, as well as the musical interludes between the acts are well balanced and stylistically inspiring. This is a fine production which manifests Ayckbourn’s acute vision throughout."
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