"There is lots to enjoy here; the constant silliness means there nothing serious in the show, but that is exactly the point."
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"Evans’ send-up of [Dickens’] classic… is so informed and quick-witted it doesn’t just fly the flag for intelligent parodies it salutes Dickens’ genius. English eccentricity at its madcap best."
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"Even comic exaggeration wears out its welcome if it isn’t anchored in some kind of truth. However, the script made some nods in that direction, like the running commentary on the subjugation of women as they protest for their right to vote...I loved the nod toward Victorian-era repression with the statement that a bride can die from the shock of physical contact with a man"
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" 'Bleak Expectations' could let itself off the leash more. Still, Evans knows how to turn running gags into plot elements and vice versa — whatever that anvil prop cost, it was worth it...I just couldn’t help wishing it had come a good half-hour sooner."
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"[The play's] tropes ... get stretched to the point of translucence, and it all lacks a little cohesion. It’s like feasting on canapes – periodically delightful, but not exactly filling."
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"Often very funny but showing signs of strain in its change of mediums, 'Bleak Expectations' still managed to provide an enjoyable evening at the theatre, and often had me thinking it was completely stupid – a compliment, with this kind of show."
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"It’s that kind of show, with nothing new to say about our Victorian past (far less the present), and lots of funny ways of saying it."
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"Whilst the concept is great, the show is more amusing than riotously funny, and the absence of great comedy means the lack of plot is only highlighted. The script could be made much more complex and wittier, but in its current form, it instead induces giggles rather than hysterics. Unfortunately, 'Bleak Expectations' is not the best of times or the worst of times - it’s just an okay time."
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