Mad House (London) London Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (58)
See it if You like plays with characters you just detest and wish you could shake them and help the good guy
Don't see it if Family dramas frustrate you
See it if you enjoy dark humour and family stories
Don't see it if you don’t want to be involved in a dark family situation
See it if You want to be challenged. David Harbour and Bill Pulmam were incredible. Hard topics involved with levity enough.
Don't see it if You wouldn't like to see difficult or uncomfortable topics portrayed.
See it if Incredible pair of actors side by side.
Don't see it if Slightly slow story, no major arc
See it if You like stars in your plays.
Don't see it if You are triggered by the themes.
See it if You enjoy dark humour but in a show that has a great story and is impeccably acted. Very thought provoking and emotional whilst enjoyable.
Don't see it if You can't handle themes of death and loss or are looking for something fluffy and uplifting.
See it if Enjoy an amazing dark comedy with morally ambiguos undertones
Don't see it if Are easily offended
See it if you enjoy simple plays where you don’t have to think about much and if you have family issues this is very relatable!
Don't see it if if you enjoy fast paced, upbeat plays
Critic Reviews (12)
‘Mad House’ has an absolutely tremendous cast who were never not going to be able to carry this off. But ultimately you’re left with a play that doesn’t know if it wants to be ‘Hamlet’ or ‘Clybourne Park’, and suffers as a result.
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In a play with too many half-drawn, derivative characters, [Harbour] is the one for whom we end up caring. It is ultimately a play with bits of brilliance ... but falling – heroically – short.
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The dark comedy draws you in, but hits the snag of leaving you a bit high and dry when you yourself are required to care. The evening makes valid points about how hard the family straitjacket can be to escape. But the elaboration of resentments has a pre-fab quality.
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The first hour or so delivers an absorbing blend of dark and light, anguish and humour. Sadly, that delicate balance goes awry later. It’s still a thought-provoking piece, but you’re left wondering what might have been.
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Director Moritz Von Stuelpnagel holds the wildly divergent tonal shifts together as best he can, and the cast are never less than watchable but the overall impact is strangely muffled.
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[This] offbeat black comedy loses focus despite meaty performances from David Harbour and Bill Pullman. Director Moritz von Stuelpnagel ... bulks up the text with plenty of purposeful non-verbal cues.
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The themes of mental health and our own mortality makes it sound like Mad House should be a serious affair, but it’s not entirely. The play is wickedly funny, filled with witty one-liners and clever comedy constructs, all helped by Bill Pullman’s exceptional comedy timing.
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Director Moritz von Stuelpnagel keeps things pacy, and secures fine, flamboyant performances from this A-grade cast. But still, this is all deeply old-fashioned stuff which ... could have easily been written any time in the last five decades.
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