Hero's Welcome NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (18)
See it if you want to see Alan Ayckbourn still proving his talent for clever wordplay, sly plot twists & class system commentary 55yrs into his career
Don't see it if you have no patience for a slow Act 1; you expect a laugh-out-loud Ayckbourn comedy. (This is "comedy" in the Chekhovian or Shavian sense.)
See it if You want to see the latest Alan Ayckbourn play. Interesting to see in repertory with Confusions. Amazingly versitile and talented actors.
Don't see it if You prefer shorter plays. The first act is almost an hour and a half long.
See it if you want to see an Ayckbourn play that is more dramatic than comedic. Full of twists and turns! Act One is filled with too much exposition.
Don't see it if you need more action in a play. Also, if you do not understand the British class system. If you do not appreciate subtle performances.
See it if You love plays by Ayckbourn. This is one of his best. You appreciate fine writing. You like contemporary plays with relatable characters !
Don't see it if You are looking for a lighthearted saucy British comedy. Ayckbourn has written many fine ones but this is far from a comedy !
See it if you are interested in anything Ayckbourn writes and you like seeing first-rate British actors.
Don't see it if because it's by Ayckbourn, you are expecting it to be a comedy!
See it if You want to see a play about what it's like to return home after a war. There was a mystery about why the person left in the first place.
Don't see it if you don't find character studies of interest.
See it if 3 stories, 3 households cramped staging, but mostly engrossing play very well acted. Ayckbourn's world is always a treat, this one included.
Don't see it if It's not top drawer Ayckbourn, but if you love his writing as I do, you won't want to miss it. Next is the 5-play evening called CONFUSIONS.
See it if you're an Ayckbourn completist. There are some strong performances in roles that have shading. Others are stuck playing villains or victims.
Don't see it if you want to believe Ayckbourn's an unerring hero. This wears out its welcome early on.
Critic Reviews (27)
“Though it is Mr. Ayckbourn’s most recent play, it is also one of this most old-fashioned...A comedy, at least in the sense that Chekhov called his plays comedies. Its characters are enjoyably silly in their pretensions and eccentricities. They are also capable of acts of genuine evil and genuine heroism...A crowded work...It has more twists of plot than a season of ‘Coronation Street.’ But never make the mistake of thinking Mr. Ayckbourn doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
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"Having churned out some 79 plays over 55 years, Alan Ayckbourn could easily have run out of plot twists—but this seemingly facile master is far from depleted...The couples bounce off each other like charged particles, and if you think you know where the story’s going, you assuredly don’t. Ayckbourn is as crack a director as he is a dab playwright, and the cast is top-notch—especially the heliotropic Hoskins, who starts out shadowy and subdued, only slowly finding her light."
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"'Hero’s Welcome' is one of the most poignant dramas that Mr. Ayckbourn has given us…The straightforwardly plotted 'Hero’s Welcome' contains none of the virtuoso theatrical prestidigitation that is Mr. Ayckbourn’s trademark, but it does make splendidly effective use of two stock types from his rogue’s gallery of men…Has there ever been a playwright who directed his own works more skillfully and imaginatively? I doubt it."
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"As Ayckbourn proves in his tremendous new drama, he's just as wily and incisive now as he was in the early days of his career…The writing blends Ayckbourn's signature style of menacing darkness underneath uproarious situational comedy. It's an excellent, compelling look at human resilience in the face of terror, and the things people are willing to do to make each other both miserable and happy. The performances are top-notch."
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"A rich theatrical piece…It is an emotionally charged story that keeps you captivated from the first moment to the last…This is storytelling at its finest, a complex human drama full of twists and turns. The characters are distinctive and wonderfully crafted. The cast completely masters their respective roles capturing the drama and humorous moments in the story...’Hero’s Welcome’ is a theatrical gift to metro area audiences."
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"Now having its American premiere in repertory with 'Confusions', one of
Ayckbourn’s earliest plays, with the same actors in both, the production which
is directed by the author is from the Stephen Joseph Theater, Scarborough,
where most of the author’s plays have had their world premieres. This is a
powerful and engrossing study of friendship, love, jealousy, competition
and betrayal."
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"It’s an ironic play with amusing but bitter elements. The irony is tinged with wisdom-of-the-ages sadness, but it does end on a hopeful note…The acting is first-rate as is the direction, with twists and turns created by a first-rate intelligence. 'Hero’s Welcome' is a play you take home with you, furrow your brow and think about, It’s proof that even at 79, Alan Ayckbourn can still create diverse plays with interesting characters. Anything he writes is well worth seeing!"
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"While 'Confusions' ranks in the lower region of Ayckbourn's amazingly large body of work, 'Hero's Welcome' deserves a place in the top tier. Though not without its comic moments, the emphasis this time is on romance — with a true and tender love story interwoven with several youthful love affairs gone wrong…Richard Stacey is believable and touching as the soldier…This mix of sweet and sour makes for a satisfyingly complex several hours of theater."
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