See it if you are in the mood for a couple of short unrelated vignettes that will make you laugh (would also make a good play to see on a date).
Don't see it if you expect an in-depth exploration of Jewish culture or themes (it feels tacked on rather than at the heart of each text). Read more
The Arc is incredibly ambitious for three plays that together are just over an hour. The sometimes squished format admittedly limits its capacity to penetrate beyond the surfaces of the three stories. More directorial voltage wouldn’t go amiss either.
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“Kayla Feldman’s production is so stiff and phony. The cast includes veterans Nigel Planer and Adrian Schiller...but I didn’t believe for one moment that they, or anyone else on stage, believed in the dialogue they were speaking. This is bad-faith acting in a handful of playlets – ‘trilogy’ is too grand a word – that are all about faith, culture and family.”
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“This is thin fare, hamstrung by the crudeness of the concept, and the crudeness too of some of the writing. The brevity of each play should allow for some formal innovation – instead, the occasional time slip and divine manifestation confuses rather than intriguingly disrupts the action.”
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“A reflection on the complexities of familial duties, it packs a remarkable amount into its short run time, leaving no ends untied...More, though, ‘The Arc’s’ plays are a reminder that Jewishness is only a part of the identity of its London population, who honour their lineage in their own ways.”
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“Despite the talent assembled, it’s a shame we rarely were able to see any of them shine to their full potential. Much of the plays felt a touch under-rehearsed, as if we were observing a rehearsed, memorised reading of work-in-progress plays, rather than a fully-staged production of complete works.”
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