See it if you are open to being challenged
Don't see it if you want some escapism
See it if highly entertaining, made me laugh, shocking at times, the show was worth the ticket price
Don't see it if you don't like to be shocked
See it if You want to laugh out loud. Brilliant play and performances.
Don't see it if You want something "politically correct"
See it if you want to have a great laugh and likes physical comedy
Don't see it if you love Thatcher or can’t take jokes
See it if You enjoy intense, character led theatre and being in an intimate theatre audience.
Don't see it if You don't like politics, don't want to keep an open mind, need stage spectacular to keep you interested.
See it if You enjoy expertly written dark comedy, exceptional acting and an exploration of very relevant contentious topics.
Don't see it if You are easily offended, are looking for something light hearted to watch?
See it if If you are a fan of the celebrities hamming it up
Don't see it if You want a good show, or if you don't appreciate lame rape jokes as the entire comedic backbone of the play.
See it if multiple layers of thinking, very relevant to current climate, masterfully acted
Don't see it if nothing
“Woody Harrelson sends himself up mercilessly in this purposely offensive theatre-world farce from 2018, which continues writer David Ireland’s mission to shock audiences out of complacency.”
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"Ireland aims to offend, and I was somewhat offended, job done (I did enjoy the jokes about how much they all hate theatre critics). I suppose that’s how you stay a cult artist. Plus, it you’re going to be subjected to wearying gags about sexual assault, it might as well be from that nice Woody Harrelson!"
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"The character development becomes hamstrung by the play’s limitations, with all three apoplectically overacting by the end. But the performances far outshine the play and are reason enough to see this imperfect, anarchic production."
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“...aside from a denouement that achieves that rare thing, shock-value, the evening offers the unmistakable pleasure that an actor of Harrelson’s stature has bothered to come over, and throw himself into a gleeful portrait of a visiting Yank as the grisly epitome of preening, mansplaining insufferability.”
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"I’m still of the opinion that the character revelations are often gerrymandered for effect: quite a few of the twists across Jeremy Herrin’s pacey, interval-free production have to be taken on faith. But if you’re going to brave the gruesome funfair into which Ireland and co. plunge an audience head-first, you could hardly be in better hands."
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“Walking a line between slapstick scrambling and visceral violence, the bloody sequence encapsulates the play’s tension between grotesque comedy and cruelty, as the characters finally abandon all civility and tear into each other with animalistic ferocity.”
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“Powerful, thought-provoking. Gritty, raw, and unashamedly real, the ability it has to make you cry with laughter one moment and make your blood boil with rage the next showcase the phenomenal nature of the writing, made even better by inspired direction and what may well be the best cast you see in a play this year. ‘Ulster American’ demands your attention and with a show as flawless as this, there is no way it is not going to get it.”
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“It all makes for a riotously enjoyable evening, and though I’m sure it doesn’t need the help of a dreaded critic to ensure it becomes a hot ticket, trust me when I say – do whatever you can to bag one.”
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