Privacy NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (175)
See it if You want a provocative piece that isn't strictly a play, but is entertaining and clever, as its parlor tricks morph from funny to sinister.
Don't see it if You have something to hide. You want a "play" instead of an mixed media "experiential piece." You despise audience participation.
See it if You enjoy seeing something different that makes you think and also engages you interactively.
Don't see it if You prefer plays that are heavy on narrative and don't like audience participation (although you can choose not to).
See it if you can. Each audience is asked not to say too much about what happens. Charge your phone before you go.
Don't see it if I can't imagine why you wouldn't see it.
See it if you'd like an entertaining, yet very smart, discussion of the loss of privacy in the internet age.
Don't see it if you want a lasting drama-- this is more of a fascinating set of demonstrations and audience participations
See it if you are a fan of Daniel Radcliffe on stage - Which I am! He makes the material seem relevant with a sense of urgency.
Don't see it if you are looking for a traditional book. This is more a docu-drama about a writer researching "Privacy" in today's world.
See it if you're interested in learning about electronic privacy in a funny, intelligent, & informative manner. Also if you're a Daniel Radcliffe fan.
Don't see it if I can't think of a single reason not to see this amazing performance - other than the fact that it's probably completely sold out.
See it if You have a smart phone, or use the Internet, or basically ever leave your apartment. Very scary about how we are used in the digital age!
Don't see it if You're a conspiracy theory kind of person as this show will push you right over the edge!!!
See it if you would enjoy theater that is more informative than play, want to learn how we give up privacy for smart device technology. Great acting.
Don't see it if You want a linear play with character development, don't like lots of audience participation, have no interest in internet and tech themes.
Critic Reviews (41)
“The riveting unconventional comedy - part metadata high-tech primer, part futuristic horror show about the present, part audience participation event with the spirit of a hip magic show - made me more paranoid than I already am about the intimate reach of the digital revolution...Ultimately, the play’s end feels inconclusive. But given the seismic ongoing transformation of our idea of privacy, a tidy ending would have seemed false.”
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“Since it premiered in 2014, the issues raised by 'Privacy' have only increased in urgency and traction...Josie Rourke’s production has been comprehensively overhauled since its debut, with the narrative around the author's own journey through this data minefield more hauntingly personalised...Radcliffe acquits himself well...He emerges more fully formed than the rest of the versatile company, combining amiability, vulnerability and curiosity.”
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"Although there’s a wisp of a plot...'Privacy' isn’t a play. It’s sort of a dramatized, semi-documentary, presentation/lecture, with audience participation and some laughs...Radcliffe reveals an appealingly quick wit in the ad-libbing that’s a substantial part of the evening. Aside from its helter-skelter progression, the biggest problem for 'Privacy' is that it urgently tells us something we already know, or suspect."
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“Starring Daniel Radcliffe, whose considerable talents are squandered in a production that’s long on information, but short on dramatic tension. Radcliffe plays a depressed writer searching for his authentic self. But in the digital world, does one actually exist?...Co-created by Josie Rourke and James Graham, the slick, fast-paced show is aided by Duncan McLean’s projection design and audience participation.”
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"The point is to illustrate Edward Snowden’s critique of government surveillance and the whistleblower himself duly pops up in a video recording…'Privacy’s' hypothetical denouement turns out to be so far-fetched that I felt less convinced by Snowden’s case at the end of the play than I had been beforehand…Documentary theatre works best when grounded in hard facts. By resorting to overheated speculation, Graham weakens the argument at the heart of his play."
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“A disquieting comic-thriller...Radcliffe offers another in a line of effacing and affecting performances…Agreeable supporting performances are turned in by a cast in multiple roles...I’m not sure any of the revelations come as a jarring surprise, though they raise substantive issues in myriad original ways.”
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“A great deal of earnest hand-wringing and some entertaining audience participation, but not much in the way of actual drama...Offers less of a story than a collection of sketches designed to illustrate its paranoid arguments...It is also worth noting that, in crafting this show, Rourke and Graham haven't done much to consider the opposing point of view - namely, that sacrificing a measure of collective privacy might yield possible benefit and create a safer society.”
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"'Privacy' manages to be both hugely entertaining and somewhat glib. It's impossible to tune out from the event Graham and Rourke have orchestrated: Each fresh revelation of our private data works like a magic trick, eliciting shocked laughter and delighted gasps. But these digital sleights of hand can also obscure deeper discussion. The dichotomy suggested by The Writer's tale, which pits live intimacy against digital exposure, feels oversimplified."
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