“The cast do their best with the material and the set is well executed, but when you’re forced to watch often selfish characters hash their issues out, you may get more entertainment out of watching your own family bicker for two hours.”
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“The plot is vestigial, only there to support a series of running gags, acrimonious banter, shaggy dog stories and standalone jokes that feel even older than Jack. It’s entertaining enough, with moments of pathos, but feels sketchy and unfinished. The ending, which takes place during lockdown, descends into cliché.”
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“Having just lost my mother, I found the elegiac portrait of imminent parental death and bereavement – and the sense of a generational way of life, ordinary yet inimitable, on the brink of erasure – all too poignant.”
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“It’s bound to strike a chord with anyone who has watched loved ones start to deteriorate, and it seems well-attuned to a Hampstead Theatre audience that may well understand the prevailing dynamic even if they are less familiar day-to-day with the Hull accent.”
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"Related in quiet, self-contained scenes, these snappy stories feature a pleasing mix of intriguing details, dark turns and witty punchlines, giving a substantial lift to a production that otherwise feels stuffy and subdued."
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“The greatest element To Have and To Hold has going for it is its miraculous cast...[the show] has a lot of potential. However, its problem lies in its deeply flawed execution...Despite [these], the show does have some decent things going for it with some truly great bits of dialogue and a lot of laughs, particularly in the beginning, as well as stunning performances from Alun Armstrong and Marion Bailey. Unfortunately, its flaws outweigh its strengths.”
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“...a funny and entertaining piece, a classic setup, a stab at something state-of-the nationy by focusing on the class divide, wealth divide, political divide, geographical divide within one family.”
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“While there is much to enjoy in the comedy of this rather traditional play, what’s missing is a sharpness of the satire which Bean has occasionally used to good effect in the past...even the smooth pleasures of the Jim Reeves soundtrack can’t compensate for the piece’s lack of genuine spark.”
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