This tender, bracing and beautiful portrait of family life is a throwback in many ways...a seriously good, warm-hearted play that had me hooked.'
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It’s a sophisticated unhappy families sitcom...Their chats, fights and sulks are brilliantly written...There are a few juddering plot twists and the ending is too long but, hey, that’s family life too, isn’t it?'
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while Jack Thorne’s new play is avowedly personal, always interesting and beautifully staged by John Tiffany, it left me wishing for a deeper connection between the family foreground and the historical background.'
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It’s an odd, slightly aimless play...The whole thing is engrossing for the entirety of its 110 minutes, straight-through run-time. Engrossing, but not overwhelming, and not one for the history books.'
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The title promises a political emphasis but instead devolves into the sort of parent-child agon that Philip Larkin might well recognise...raises more questions than it answers.'
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Kate O’Flynn and Lesley Sharp give stunning performances in Jack Thorne’s family drama...a heartfelt and likeable tribute to Thorne’s parents’ generation that takes too long to warm up to really make its point.'
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You marvel afresh at Thorne’s ease with dialogue...the subtlety is part of the charm... Yet you’re left with a curious sense that, as with history, this is a work in progress.'
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...an intimate drama based on Thorne's own family, which resolutely refuses to fly...there are a lot of clever lines, but they often seem imposed on the characters rather than arising naturally from their thoughts.'
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