Mike up the actors so they don’t have to yell and lose all the nuance. Great performances but poor script. Scenes were too short to establish characters.
Quality: 4
Value for money: 1
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Brand: Old Vic Theatre
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Beautiful and moving play about the pain of generational trauma, societal expectations and roles that women are forced into. Highly recommending seeing it for yourself.
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
All the actors on stage are absolutely sublime, however the play itself is fairly simplistic and narratively stale . As common in American plays, the focus is all on drama: As much as I can appreciate the will to showcase the life of a woman through flashes of her life through 7 decades, after a while the fact that all scenes are dramatic and tragic until Mary page meets her third husband is tiring. I would have found more interesting an alternation of happy moments, daily moments and tragic moments: it would have been more realistic and compelling. Even the fun high school friend has to be mentioned as having died of cancer in a later scene. The fact that it is staged in the round is not used properly: I had front stalls tickets but the director staged it so most of the action was fronted, so I looked at the back of the actors for a good 60 min out of 100. Again interesting to use the round stage but you need to know how to use it. You cannot place an actor sitting down with her back to half of the audience for an entire scene. A side note: the latest fad of 100 min plays with no interval is tiring, it takes away the social aspect of going to the theatre and after about 40/45 you experience fatigue (and the need for the loo)
Quality: 3
Value for money: 3
Best acting but the play is too dramatic not even a splash of humor( only in the hospital), a life full of black sides
Quality: 3
Value for money: 1
A dream come true 😀
Quality: 4
Value for money: 5
Amazing cast - did not really need Susan Sarandon , although she was good but also no doubt the reason for £155 per ticket !
Quality: 4
Value for money: 3
The worst play I saw this year (out of about 20) Honestly only go if you are desperate to see Susan Sarandon in the flesh. The play is basically a character study of an 'every woman' , topics were so old: alcoholism, divorce... I closed my eyes to let them rant on because most of the time it was also visually boring, just two people shouting at each other. There has been a slew of these plays where so called Hollywood royalty come to tick their theatre boxes. Can't believe something so boring got into the old Vic. Clearly a decision for the profit potential rather than artistic value to the audience.
Quality: 2
Value for money: 1
Great show
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
had a great time
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Rating: 4/5 stars A collection of poignant and quirky moments in the long life of a bewildered woman Suitable for ages 14+. Mary Page Marlowe chronicles the titular character’s experiences of emotional hurt in childhood, messy self-discovery in teenage and young adulthood, mistakes in parenthood, and regret and reminiscence in later life. Jumping between eleven moments in Mary Page’s life, writer Tracy Letts shows us the pieces of a complex, relatable woman. Five brilliant actors portray Mary Page - Alisha Weir (in her professional stage debut), Eleanor Worthington-Cox, Rosy McEwen, and, most notably, Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie, Matilda the Musical) and Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking, Thelma & Louise). All five deliver fantastic performances, with Riseborough and Worthington-Cox being the highlights of the night. Riseborough, playing Mary Page as a fumbling parent to a disengaged son (Griffin Ashton) and a hot-headed daughter (Clare Hughes), captivates the audience with the broad range of emotions she conveys. The performance faintly echoes the Academy Award-nominated performance of the protagonist in To Leslie, what with Mary Page being an alcoholic (in this stage of her life) - we see the strain between Mary Page’s dependency on drinking and the longing to hold on to her family, which is becoming unstable. Riseborough is equal parts funny and heartbreaking, just as Mary Page Marlowe is. Worthington-Cox, in contrast, portrays Mary Page as a 19-year-old - holed up in a university dorm with three friends, as is the ‘fun’ life of a novice adult, contemplating through a game of tarot the meaning of her predicted future. This is a powerful scene, a humorous and touching representation of young people desperately trying to avoid a miserable fate. Mary Page Marlowe, really, is a ninety-minute play about avoidance and bewilderment, and acceptance. We shouldn’t be afraid of the death card, Mary Page’s friend Connie (Kingsley Morton) reassures us, “because the card has already been dealt”. Another standout actor in this show is Clare Hughes, playing Mary Page’s daughter, Wendy. I was drawn to her every time she spoke. She carries an indignance that is not off-putting at all; rather, it is exciting to witness. Bouncing off Riseborough’s lines with well-timed sarcasm, Hughes takes a character we presume to be superficial and proves herself to be capable of seeing the nuances. The transition between scenes could be quicker, perhaps a tad smoother - the dimming of the lights and the faint shuffling of stagehands and props can be quite awkward, slightly overlong. Luckily, this does not detract from the overall quality of the play; Mary Page Marlowe is well-written and directed, beautifully illuminated by lighting designer Hugh Vanstone, and, of course, brought to life splendidly by the actors. It was a delight to see Susan Sarandon, one of my absolute favourite actors (Louise FREAKING Sawyer!!), entrancing us, LIVE (!!), with yet another wonderful performance. There is a palpable chemistry between all the cast and crew, providing us with a night of emotion and entertainment. Is Mary Page Marlowe a must-watch? Not particularly. But it is very much watchable, enjoyable. The cast is magnificent, and the story elicits deep questions - what does it mean to be a woman? A wife and mother? Why do we feel the need to perform, and when can we drop the facade, if we ever can? The play is good. It will make you laugh, and it will make you think.
Quality: 4
Value for money: 4
Great play, very engaging. Hardly noticed the time pass. Original story construct
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Great performances from all the cast and the stage crew worked tirelessly. I can understand why it was played without an interval but I do prefer there to be a break to allow you to process what has happened so far.
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
This "in the round" production was outstanding. The lighting, stage direction were really impressive. Added to this the acting was superb. A thought provoking journey of one womans life through the various stages - ups and downs that life presents. It was very, very good and I am happy to recommend it to family and friends. So glad we got the tickets:-)
Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Very enjoyable evening. A special bravo to the different Mary Page child, teenager, young women and of course to Susan Sarandon who’s dicton was so clear that , as foreigner, l enjoyed every word .
Quality: 4
Value for money: 5
Enjoyed seeing 2 wonderful lead film actresses on stage. But also impressed by the supporting cast. First time at the Old Vic. Immersive experience. on the down side couldn't see some aspects of the acting as the stage was a circle with actors having their backs towards us. the story was interesting looking at all phases of the characters life and her interaction wirh others.
Quality: 4
Value for money: 3
VERY POOR ! Excellent acting, appalling miserable play with NO redeeming features, a complete waste of the actors’ talents. Theatre is not very appealing and needs excellent plays to draw audience. A drunken selfish destructive woman.
Quality: 1
Value for money: 1
Exceptional.
Quality: 5
Value for money: 3
Great acting!
Quality: 4
Value for money: 4
Not Tracy Letts finest piece of writing, perhaps, yet the quiet charm of the Old Vic and its special in-the-round staging tonight more than compensates for the script’s occasional rough edges
Quality: 3
Value for money: 4
I felt this play had potential but ended up being a bit of unresolved let down. Brilliant actors with not a very good play. Wasn’t impressed.
Quality: 3
Value for money: 3