“A thrilling, devastating and, yes, deeply unreliable look at recovery...The staging gives the illusion that something dynamic and new is happening...But I kept waiting for something bigger than fine stagecraft — and even Gough’s ingenious performance — to kick in...However valuable and accurate 'People, Places' is as a portrait of the addict’s nightmare, the play really wants to weigh in on a more fundamental issue about addiction and responsibility. And on this note it seems to waffle."
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“Macmillan’s play is a searing exploration of a still-taboo subject, brilliantly elucidated through its parallels with his own chosen art form...Emma comes roaring into chaotic, devastating life in the person of Denise Gough...The rumors are true. She is that good...Macmillan and director Herrin expertly walk the line between morbid humor and excruciating honesty...But the brilliance of ‘People, Places & Things’ is that empathy — vital though it may be — is no cure-all.”
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“Although elements of Duncan Macmillan’s play feel all too familiar (toxic parents, inevitable capitulation), a vivid, no-holds-barred star turn and striking staging distinguish the London import...Gough, in her New York debut, gives an explosive, wildly emotional performance. She is matched by a visceral, pulsing production that worms its way the addict’s addled brain.”
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"It's the human core of Gough's fearless performance that keeps you glued...While the group scenes can be somewhat repetitive and overwritten, the playwright strikes a considered balance between respect for the methods of recovery and skepticism about their limitations...Herrin's directorial flourishes, impressive and bracingly physical as they often are, do tend to pad the text, making it seem stretched at two hours and 20 minutes."
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“A superbly astute theater piece...Herrin's invigorating production is unlike anything we've ever seen in terms of sheer creativity...When it seems like Macmillan’s about to take a dramatically easy route, he doesn't hesitate to throw an 11th-hour wrench into the works...This play is written with a complex understanding of real life...Gough's full-on performance is almost hard to watch at times because of this starkly authentic physical and emotional nakedness.”
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"Herrin and his team have all sorts of ways of signaling the depth Emma's distress...Macmillan's bluntly unsentimental handling of Emma's recovery is hair-raisingly evident...Throughout, Gough gives the kind of performance of which careers are made - hilariously awful when drunk, dazzlingly on the offensive when sober, and, finally, moving, as she learns to let down her guard, only to absorb psychological blows...The rest of the production is equally assured."
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“The hype that surrounds an award-winning performance on one side of the Atlantic can often preclude its impact if and when it arrives on the other side. This is not the case, I'm happy to report, with the overwhelmingly powerful performance of Denise Gough who deservedly won the Olivier Award as Emma in ‘People, Places & Things,’ a new play by Duncan MacMillan, which premiered in London in 2015, and is now enjoying its American premiere at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn.”
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"Likely to be noticed primarily as Gough's New York debut...But Macmillan's Grand Guignol voyage through the demolished mind of an addict is far more than a vehicle for Gough's virtuosic performance...Macmillan's drama is a timely depiction of the physical, psychological, and social impact of addiction. It's hard to imagine the sundry crafts of theater being brought together more expertly to dramatize the peril and pain of life at the mercy of drugs."
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