"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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"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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"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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"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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"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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