Privacy NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (175)
See it if you are interested in knowing the sacrifices we have made in order to stay current in the technology arena; like good, affable acting.
Don't see it if you have never owned a smartphone and don't plan to; you don't know what WiFi is; realism is not your thing.
See it if You use social media or own a smartphone or tablet device. You're interested in the Internet or technology. You've gone through a breakup.
Don't see it if You're easily paranoid. You don't enjoy particapatory theatre. You have trouble with briskly paced dialogue. You won't keep the surprises.
See it if You like interactive audience experiences, are interested in the connection between technology and privacy issues, security concerns.
Don't see it if You still own a flip phone, hate audience participation or don't read the newspaper.
See it if Want an experience that will open your eyes to the reality of the mass surveillance and tracking that shapes our lives in a fun, funny way.
Don't see it if You are looking for a straight play with emotional stakes and character arcs; avoid sharing info online, dislike feeling lectured to.
See it if you like a funny, engaging show revealing the lack of privacy in our everyday existence; not really new information, but very well presented
Don't see it if you are turned off by audience interaction, or still don't have an email address or computer.
See it if You want to see topical issues raised by technology and social media entertainingly explored by a fine cast.
Don't see it if You cannot get a ticket to this sold out run.
See it if you like audience participation, you like contemplating modern technology and it's implications in our lives.
Don't see it if you want a strong plot, there wasn't really one.
See it if you want the truth about privacy -- or lack thereof -- in the 21st century, enjoy Daniel Radcliffe (excellent here), and have a smartphone
Don't see it if you don't like breaking the fourth wall, audience interaction, or plays that are more commentary than story
Critic Reviews (41)
“There's a lot of publicity surrounding the Public's production. Publicity is great, but the play's the thing and this play, written by Graham and directed by Rourke, is more like a theatricalized TED talk than a play. Plot or character motivation is used as a device to explore and demonstrate how little privacy we have...Kudos to the ensemble, who (except for Radcliffe) play dozens of characters.”
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“The originality of this show is in its engagement with the audience. It's very much an audience participation show...Daniel Radcliffe is his usual charming self onstage and he is surrounded by an excellent ensemble including Rachel Dratch of 'Saturday Night Live' fame. The show is fun, challenging, frightening at times. It does overstay its welcome a bit. An intermission-less 90 minutes would have been enough.”
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"It conflates exposé documentary, audience participation event and personal rumination to generally good effect, though for a script with precious little-long game dramatic tension, it goes on way too long…The high-tech aspects, staging and pacing are very well managed by director Josie Rourke, and it’s fun until it wears out its welcome. As to when that happens? It depends on how soon you start thinking, 'Jeez, all right, I get the point.' Your mileage may vary."
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“A piece of docu-theatre that combines actual interviews with straightforward drama and a hugely innovative set of interactions with the audience...'Privacy' debuted at the Donmar two years ago and despite some fresh gags about Brexit, it also occasionally looks its age...At its worst, the play can feel like a primer for an 80-year-old...In what is, for the most part, a funny, smart, analytical play, the end is profoundly moving and even shocking.”
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"The play is an informative essay on the uses and abuses of cyber-surveillance, wrapped in the tale of an emotionally closed British writer who moves to New York. The admirable Daniel Radcliffe plays the writer. The other actors skillfully play a multitude of roles...Occasionally the informative and entertainment elements of the play get in each other’s way. At other times the material threatens to become repetitive. Nevertheless, it makes for a most unusual theatrical experience."
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"Rourke’s superbly paced production and Graham’s dancing wit keep audiences riveted to a provocative exploration of everyday technology that we take for granted. Theirs is a killer combo, creating a theatrically sophisticated and unusually inclusive approach to deeply researched, sharply structured material that’s as fascinating as it is unnerving…Graham is far too smart to posit easy answers but the questions he asks are startlingly acute and urgent."
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"From a strict dramatic perspective there are many flaws with ‘Privacy’: the central 'plot' loses steam after a while, and the character of The Writer rings increasingly less true...'Privacy,' though, is an absolute blast. Directed at a gleefully lightning pace, it makes a virtue of the usual failings of the oft-dry medium of verbatim theatre, with notes of farce as the six strong cast shift from character to character and indulge in some supremely tongue-in-cheek audience interaction.'
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"'Privacy' is a really sharp, relevant play that looks at the frightening impact of mass surveillance…In this dramatic, electrifying play, we are invited - no, demanded - to face up to the impact of this surveillance on our lives…There’s not much of an actual story to speak of in 'Privacy' - more a fascinating dramatized lecture. Nevertheless I thought it was a really well-written, dynamically produced piece of theatre that held my attention…The play is superbly directed by Josie Rourke."
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