Rotterdam NYC Reviews and Tickets
About the Show
Hartshorn - Hook Foundation Ltd presents this bittersweet, Olivier Award-winning comedy about gender, sexuality, and being a long way from home. Part of 59E59's annual Brits Off Broadway festival.
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See it if Deep, profound and moving. Fleshed out characters and motives. Relatable in so many human ways. Superb acting! Clear why it won the Olivier.
Don't see it if You don't care about LGBT themes. Read more
See it if You want to see a realistic emotional story performed by INCREDIBLE actors. The journey of these characters is riveting start to finish.
Don't see it if You dislike shows with LGBT themes. Read more
See it if Wonderful exploration of sexuality, love, and searching for self-understanding. Excellent characters, dialog, and youthful setting.
Don't see it if You are not interested in alternative sexuality and gender issues. You don't like relationship dramas. Read more
See it if You like thought provoking that's done well.
Don't see it if You don't like thought provoking theatre.
See it if You are interested in learning about the current societal issue of transgender as it relates to young people. This is a play with a heart !
Don't see it if You cannot deal with seeing very painful and very personal issues of sexual identity portrayed literally almost in your face. See it anyway!
See it if you want to see an intense depiction of the impact of transgender transitioning on the person involved as well as on friends and family.
Don't see it if you are not interested in the topic of gender identity. Read more
See it if you enjoy excellent acting, an extremely current plot, moving and thought-provoking subject matter.
Don't see it if transgender and gay subject matter is a turn-off for you. Otherwise, don't miss it. Read more
See it if You want an exceptional play dealing with the delicate topic of transgender and gay relationships affecting those involved and beyond.
Don't see it if The subject mentioned above turns you off.
Critic Reviews (25)
"Josh, and even Adrian, are woefully underwritten, making us empathize more with Alice’s confusion after her relationship is drastically redefined. The director, Donnacadh O’Briain, moves things along swiftly...The course of love is not quite as smooth...Writing a complicated transgender role means accepting the possibility that the character may not be entirely likable, which may be Mr. Brittain’s finest achievement."
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"A sincere but overlong dramedy...The play feels very B.C.: Before Caitlyn...At times it seems positively quaint. Even so, 'Rotterdam' poses pertinent questions about what makes us who we are, with surprising humor and knockout performances...All of the characters are feeling growing pains of some kind. That helps 'Rotterdam' reach beyond its semi-topical trans hook. We are all perpetually on the way to who we want to be, and can only hope that those we love will join us on the path."
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"What matters most about this show isn't the excellence of its constituent parts, though. It's what they create when combined. The punch of the script, together with the fierce acting and unifying direction, make for a living, aching portrait of a trans man and a transitioning relationship. And what relationship isn't always transitioning?...The triumph of 'Rotterdam' is the triumph of all great theater: It finds its way to the universal through the personal."
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“This is a show that will touch the hearts and minds of everyone, a topical play that must be seen…An insightful view of love and identity. It captures the intensity of four people's situations while conveying the humor of everyday life. You will be in awe of the talented cast that brings every moment of this stirring play to life. Each of their character portrayals is spot-on…They master the fast-paced dialogue along with the rapid scene changes…An affecting play, brilliantly presented.”
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"Under Donnacadh O'Briain's fast-paced direction, we seem to catch the characters on the fly, breathlessly bopping from one crisis and/or revelation to the next; it's a measure of his work, and Brittain's writing, that we become attached to both Alice and Adrian...All four cast members are in sync with the script's sharp-elbowed wit as well as the deeper emotions underneath...Credit 'Rotterdam' for treating its complex subject with sensitivity and wit."
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"These are important issues, more than worthy of being explored...Unfortunately, 'Rotterdam' does little to move things forward. Instead of probing deeply into the questions being raised, the play deals with everything at a surface level...It doesn't help move things along when the playwright brings in a pair of supporting characters who are even less developed than the two at the center...A missed opportunity to deal directly with the issues the play raises but fails to elucidate."
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“Though director Donnacadh O'Briain has a real challenge negotiating so many quick scene changes, and you may feel, at times, that there's too much shouting and anger about--making it a sort of ‘Who's Afraid of Virginia’ without the ‘Woolf’-- ‘Rotterdam’ is really a smart play that gets you thinking about transsexuals in new and vital ways.”
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"An emotionally complex, and deftly written play, directed beautifully by O’Briain...Wonderfully designed in such a way that enables the emotional moments of the production to soar beyond what is scripted...Its conversation on the subject of the trans community is handled in a way that feels genuine, and never heavy-handed...Freeman shows us an individual surpassing gender identity, giving us a performance altogether devastating, hopeful, and incredibly relatable."
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