“Whatever drew Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily James to Penelope Skinner’s shambling, implausible exploration of the raw deal women get utterly fails to materialise on stage. The characters are underdeveloped, the narrative heavy with exposition”
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“A character speaks of the importance of keeping up the fight but that fight seems to have died in them both by the drama’s end. If this is Skinner’s conclusion on where we are in our post #MeToo world, it is bleak indeed.”
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“If you were to stumble across Penelope Skinner’s new drama in a thinly populated corner of the Edinburgh Fringe, you would put it down as an undergrad experiment. To find it in the West End, with Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily James in the lead roles, is bizarre.”
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“The whole thing is a bit baggy and broad, moving suddenly in different directions, but it’s bound together by Ian Rickson’s sensitive, detailed direction. Its themes are riveting, and although the final destination isn’t entirely satisfying, it’s hard not to enjoy the journey especially in the company of so strong a cast.”
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“There’s so much to explore here, but neither Skinner nor director Ian Rickson ever settle on a consistent tone. ‘Lyonesse’ has some good moments of satire – mainly via the always-excellent Doon Mackichan as morally bankrupt film boss Sue – and even a strange slapstick sequence...But it doesn’t have a secure foundation for a drama involving such sensitive issues because the characters don’t ring true”
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“Skinner’s sharply observed writing is full of humour, wit and fragments of poetry. Director Ian Rickson never rushes the sprawling, stately scenes, allowing plenty of time for the endearingly flawed characters to grow on us, and for doubts to fester”
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The star casting here means that Lyonesse is pretty much guaranteed a sold out run, but audiences are likely to be more enamoured with the cast than the story, which is enjoyable enough, if a little underwhelming.
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"Lyonesse is a flimsy but fascinating creation, an elaborate structure built on a solid bedrock of feminist truths."
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