The Southbury Child (London) London Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (34)
See it if Fab set and fab story. Loved every part of this and can't believe I forgot to write a review at the time !
Don't see it if You are uncomfortable about death and the themes that surround it.
See it if You enjoy a good comedy. Alex Jennings delivers as promised.
Don't see it if You don't like comedies or religion.
See it if You enjoy dark comedies and nuanced family dynamics - excellent. Such a well balanced play.
Don't see it if N/A
See it if you like a clever, play about social issues in a small town
Don't see it if you don't like plays
See it if You enjoy religious debates.
Don't see it if Are very sensitive about death and religion.
See it if Some great acting, and I really enjoyed the play and the themes.
Don't see it if You are expecting comedy with lots of laughs. There is humour but much more subtle
See it if the mixture of quick-responses, unexpected swearing and pathos captures your attention
Don't see it if you are easily offended by behaviour and language unusual in members of the church or humour in a play about the death of a child.
See it if Alex Jennings has never been better one of our finest actors has scored a personal triumph. Great acting and a provocative and moving play.
Don't see it if I can't imagine any serious theatergoer not wanting to see this.
Critic Reviews (7)
"A flurry of melodramatic contrivances in the second act sit curiously with the overall sourly comic, social realist tone, and it’s only really in the final, wrenching scene that we’re fully emotionally engaged, the raw grief of Twomey’s Tina over her child’s coffin a devastating gut punch. That confrontation with mortality, is of course, partly what Beresford is getting at: but it’s a sip of real potency in a play that slips down a little too easily."
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"This play contains fascinating, and unresolved questions about the role of a church in a community whose inhabitants only darken its doors for christenings, weddings, and funerals."
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"Several big themes are covered, from gay marriage to adoption and alcoholism. At times it can feel like it’s trying to cram too many into one play. But there are some fabulously funny lines, and the characters largely ring true, thanks in no small measure to some towering performances."
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"It’s rare to see a play genuinely surprise the audience as this one does, but the payoff for that excitement was slight dissatisfaction, I was left hanging on for a catharsis that never came. Ultimately it feels more like a comedy documentary than a revelatory drama, but go and see it. Beresford has created a bold new play about an ancient subject – which is guaranteed to launch a thousand arguments in the bar afterwards."
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"Coming after Covid, it’s hugely, tear-stirringly cathartic. Beresford won a Bafta for the screenplay of Pride. He can pride himself on this. My play of the year so far."
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"Jennings and director Nicholas Hytner allow us to glimpse the turmoil churning inside a man torn between caring for his parishioners and standing by his principles."
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"Beresford has captured a moment of change in our time and Jennings has brought it to life with extraordinary candour and sensitivity. It's a cracking state of the nation piece and a beautiful personal tour de force for Jennings."
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