"Carey Mulligan, one of the most compelling stage actresses of her generation...Mulligan is the entire cast, you are unconditionally hers...Kelly is one lucky playwright to have had her as his interpreter...A dark tease of a tale that never quite rises to its own, earnest ambitions...Kelly has written a careful and intelligent script that covers many bases but lands on few of them with full impact. It begins as a fond portrait of a love affair and ends as a cold assessment of a tragedy."
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"Sensitively directed...and features a haunted, lived-in, and often quite funny turn from its lone onstage performer. What 'Girls & Boys' lacks is a script that elevates its subject matter to compelling drama, or anything resembling art...It has societal problems at its center that it wants to talk with us about, but it has nothing new or particularly interesting to say...An ersatz dramatic event featuring ersatz characters that doesn’t so much explore its themes as cross them off a list."
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"Words couldn’t truly capture just how thrilling, shattering, and simply phenomenal Mulligan is...Be prepared to be rocked to the core by this fictional memoir that begins in rom-com territory and slowly but surely fills with dark shadows...Mulligan makes every line, gesture and movement as a wife and mother feel so real it hurts...Kelly’s script, while a bit slack and didactic, is also scalpel-sharp and detailed...Turner guides the sleek and seamless production."
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"Mulligan delivers an unforgettable performance...For anyone interested in the art of stage acting, attendance is mandatory...Much of the piece is a long, at times rambling setup to a horrifically tragic conclusion at tonal odds with much of what's preceded it. But for all the flaws in the writing...the play nonetheless easily holds our attention for an uninterrupted 105 minutes. Much of the credit goes to Mulligan."
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"As played to aching, bruised perfection by Carey Mulligan, the unnamed Woman takes us on a journey into darkness that we hope will turn out to be an elaborate lie—but know is not...Both writing and acting are superb, in perfect sync thanks to Turner’s clinical direction and spare but effective choreography. Kelly writes with delectable relish and gusto, not scanting on cascading profanity or visceral imagery. As for Mulligan, she’s magnificent."
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“As suggested by the title, ‘Girls & Boys’ explores contemporary gender relations — as well as the capacity to commit violence. It is heavy-handed in both how it expresses its viewpoints and how it graphically describes gruesome details. Nevertheless, the play (sharply directed by Lyndsey Turner) makes for frequently absorbing and provocative storytelling, built around a fully realized, committed performance by Mulligan.”
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"It's Mulligan's disarming performance, at once hilarious and absolutely tragic, that makes the events that take place so shocking...'Girls & Boys' is a memory play, and Lyndsey Turner's production is awash with them...It's an extremely funny performance, but even as she hits punch lines as though she's secretly been a comic for years, there's a lot going on behind her eyes, adding even more depth to the play's darker, more surprising second half."
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“Mulligan, guided by Turner, gives one of those remarkably naturalistic performances that tricks you into thinking there's little or no acting involved...As in any good romantic comedy (and quite a bit...is very funny), the woman takes an immediate dislike to the man she will eventually marry...But their marriage begins going sour...and things get scary when she says she wants a divorce...No replacement for seeing Mulligan's exceptional performance live.”
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