Patriots (Almeida Theatre) London Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (7)
See it if you like well-written current historical/political plays that make you think and look back at recent world events with fresh new perspective
Don't see it if you don't like long plays, subject matter (the story of Russian oligarchs) does not sound appealing or looking for lighter theater fare.
See it if You want a political play which has great acting. I wasn't overly familiar with the politics of the time but left feeling more knowledgable
Don't see it if You don't like long political dramas.
See it if you want to explore Putin's origins and the fascinating period of history post-communism leading to Putin's rise to power
Don't see it if you don't like dialogue being use to tell the history and points of narrative, the dialogue at times was a bit unnatural and sped up
See it if for tour de force performances and a fascinating insight into how Putin achieved his grip on Russia
Don't see it if politics isn't your thing Read more
See it if you like the sort of political plays James Graham writes (This House etc)
Don't see it if It's a serious, dark play that feels bogged down in unnecessary embellishments and extraneous detail.
See it if you like shows about history, Russia, politics, socioeconomics, or you're a fan of Tom Hollander.
Don't see it if you like light and fluffy shows and/or find historical recountings of events dry and unenjoyable. Read more
See it if The 3 main actors are all very good. The actor who plays Putin is wonderful. Tom Hollander is fine and clear.
Don't see it if It’s more of a history lesson than a dramatic play — as the tension between the characters really is not built up and the ending disappoints Read more
Critic Reviews (11)
"It’s an interesting, informative play, with three great performances in Hollander’s brilliant, quicksilver Berezovsky, Keen’s hypnotically plausible, hangdog Putin, and Luke Thallon’s Abramovitch, essentially a nice enough guy who realises he needs the patronage of the others to succeed and sucks it up humbly, becoming stupendously rich in the process."
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"Goold’s direction is economical and unremittingly pacy, but assigns random regional accents to characters willy-nilly. The shoehorning of facts into dialogue, and the deployment of Berezovsky’s mathematical interest in infinity and the science of decision-making are a bit obvious. But overall this is a cracking, exciting piece of theatre that’s become, sadly, very timely."
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"Morgan’s play certainly draws our minds to how Russian’s 1% ended up here, playing out their power battles in UK courtrooms as was in the case with Berezovksy and Abramovich, and as fascinating as this post-perestroika era may be, it begs for a far fuller look at the London connection."
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"The director, Rupert Goold, manages to impose some sort of shape in the first half... By the second half, however, Hollander can’t lift a script that limps from one crisis to another as the shadows close in. "
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"Morgan has inarguably produced a work that speaks to the moment – not just in terms of the war in Ukraine, but our own political squabbles."
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"Morgan tells the story with methodical, cerebral coldness. While there’s a dose of suitably dry humour in the smart script, its slow pace and short, episodic scenes rarely generate enough conflict to really captivate."
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"The West End, and indeed Broadway, should surely ready themselves for a benign Russian invasion as Peter Morgan's drama hits the Almeida."
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"It's highly watchable, and moves at a lick; Morgan writes with admirable precision. And it's good to get an insight into the machinations of the Russian state at a time when they're threatening to destabilise the world."
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