Cruise (London) London Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (57)
See it if you want to see a brilliantly presented glimpse into Soho in the 1980s.
Don't see it if you don't like one-man shows.
See it if you want to see a completely mesmerising one man show. Supremely well acted, thoughtful, funny, heartfelt. Spectacular from start to finish.
Don't see it if you’re put off entirely by the notion of a one man show, though this is the best I’ve ever seen by some margin.
See it if you like to be transformed and transfixed into a whole new world
Don't see it if don't like gay culture
See it if you’d like a SUPERB show in which a young man learns what it was like living through the 80s as a gay man grappling with the AIDS crisis.
Don't see it if you don’t like funny, moving, beautiful theater experiences. This is a masterpiece performed by a phenomenal actor.
See it if You love fantastically acted one-person performances with masterful sound design. With an important lesson of queer history added in.
Don't see it if You don't like good plays for some reason
See it if You want to see something new. Amazing look at being gay in the 80s and so absorbing for a one man show. Insanely good!
Don't see it if You are triggered by the subject of the aids crisis.
See it if you want a vibrant distinctive experience, hear the history of gay men's challenges, love & friendship in the 80s Educates & motivates.
Don't see it if you have a closed mind.
See it if You are interested in lgbtiq+ stories, well performed, and be entertained during the whole play.
Don't see it if You don't want to know anything about LGTBI+ stories. Although you must. 😉
Critic Reviews (11)
"The play persuasively inhabits a carpe diem state of mind as much as it pays homage to a community history, and counters its more indulgent moments with waspish observation."
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Cruise is, simply put, a masterclass in single-person performance. From the exquisite writing, to the impressively engaging performance, to the sound design which propels the show forward almost slingshot-like with its energy, Cruise is one of the best pieces of theatre you’ll see this year.
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"The poetic script, which runs the gamut from comedic accounts of the salacious goings on in the back streets of Soho to a gut-wrenching list of men who were lost to the AIDS epidemic, takes you on an emotional rollercoaster without ever once losing its hold on your attention."
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Still, [Cruise is] a remarkable achievement for young actor Jack Holden, who wrote the script under lockdown and performs it with vast charm, empathy and energy.
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As the West End reopens, the pick of the young crop is Jack Holden’s self-performed debut about life on London’s gay scene in the 1980s.
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But [Cruise] is a remarkable tour-de-force, directed with inventive control by Bronagh Lagan, and powered by Holden's passionate, loving performance which conjures and celebrates all these lost men.
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A paean to a sybaritic Soho of a vanished era, Cruise namechecks the bars and, well, cruising locales of an earlier era, while the music encompasses Gloria Gaynor and Patsy Cline and many others besides.
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Elliott’s soundtrack drives the play but it’s the richness of Holden’s narrative that grabs our attention. His story, like the music, is familiar but told with remarkable freshness and flair.
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