Reviews

• Dennis Davidson

  May 4, 2017

  Travesties is stunning theatre. I brilliant script brought to life by consummate actors. An evening of delight.

• Carol C

  May 1, 2017

  Tom Hollander was beyond magical!! Everything from the entire cast, to the staging and of course the writing by Stoppard made this truly one of the best productions I have ever seen. So lucky to have gotten tickets before it sadly closed. Bravo!!!!!

• James Keith

  May 1, 2017

  Clever,amusing but rather shapeless.

• Debbie Robins

  Apr 30, 2017

  The best theatre experience ever. Chemistry between cast exceptional. Polished, 110% commitment from all . Wish I was going again tomorrow. Alas the run has finished. Theatre staff also excellent and parking deal means that next time we shall come and watch 2 theatre productions to maximise the £20 car park deal. Fantastic overral experience. Will never forget,

• Jacqui Flintoff

  Apr 30, 2017

  We really enjoyed this play. All the cast were great but we must single out Tom Hollander who was simply magnificent! What a pity it finished yesterday as we would have loved to see it all again just to be sure we hadn't missed anything.

• Jill

  Apr 30, 2017

  For an evening of pure pleasure in the theatre Travesties would be hard to beat - FUN - witty - ENERGETIC - clear - PROFOUND - just brilliant in it's script, its production, its acting and as in all good theatre the audience felt as if it was PARTICIPATING within the theatrical setting of the auditorium

• Titus Aduxas

  Apr 29, 2017

  A fantastic production- witty, sharp, sparkling with perfect comic timing. Tom Hollander and Freddie Fox excelled in the confident quickstep of their rapid-fire repartee. If I could have improved one thing, it would be the diction of the actor who played James Joyce- lyrical brogue is required for this part, delivered with perfect clarity and this was occasionally lacking, especially when rapid delivery was required. Notwithstanding this, a splendidly enjoyable evening and well worth our trip from North Yorkshire to see.

• Jael

  Apr 28, 2017

  Very playful and brilliantly acted

• Jan from Winchester

  Apr 28, 2017

  I went In a party of 6 - my husband, two sons and their partners. We enjoyed it enormously, but had to concentrate very, very hard! It is typical Stoppard, very wordy, and we were all impressed with Tom Hollander in the main role, - we had only seen him on TV before, and he really has to carry the first 20 minutes on his own, with a cold audience - very well done. At the end of the show I couldn't really remember what it had been about.

• Neil Levis

  Apr 28, 2017

  Great show. Superbly paced and very funny. Tom Hollander was terrific, but the whole cast were very strong.

• Londoner

  Apr 28, 2017

  Brilliant! Seen it twice and even better second time around

• Sue from Kent

  Apr 27, 2017

  Absolutely brilliant...the energy and comedic performance was amazing. Every actor was worthy of praise and the pace was excellent. I would recommend anyone to see this. A wonderfully enjoyable experience.

• Linda Mc

  Apr 27, 2017

  A brilliant cast - great fun to watch. The energy levels were astounding. Brilliant play.

• G Paul

  Apr 27, 2017

  As entertaining, funny and clever as it was first time round. Excellent performances all round but particularly Tom Hollander. Can we now please have Arcadia back again?

• Jane Smythe

  Apr 27, 2017

  Brilliant acting, amusing script, Oscar Wilde esque in parts. Story jumps around a little too much for my taste, giving different slants on memories I presumed. However, well worth seeing, some knowledge of The Importance of Being Ernest came in handy!

• Graham

  Apr 27, 2017

  Everyone brilliant, very funny, well staged.

• Carol Lawless

  Apr 26, 2017

  Quite the best thing we have seen in years. Tim Hollander and Freddie Fox were amazing as were the rest of the cast and we simply loved the Cecily and gwendoline scene. Glad we caught the play this week before it closes on Saturday. Well worth the journey down from Peterborough after work

• Liz

  Apr 26, 2017

  Utterly brilliant. The play is terrific anyway, but the entire cast was excellent and the directing was superb. Excellent choice of play for 2017.

• Theodora

  Apr 26, 2017

  A stunning play, we enjoyed every minute of this exhilarating, stimulating play.

• Nolans

  Apr 25, 2017

  A wonderful piece of theatre. The performances were riveting. Thought provoking and yet the production was also very entertaining and comical. Most enjoyable even if you did not get all the historical and literary references. A great production.

• J.S.

  Apr 25, 2017

  What a tour de force! Not a weak link in casting, performances, plot and dialogue. We were completely enthralled. One of the best evenings at the theatre ever. We waited in vain at the stage door to congratulate Tom and get his autograph; however we did get Julian Fellowes! Andwere able to congratulate the rest of the cast.J.S.J.S.

• PaulMitchell

  Apr 25, 2017

  A superb revival of one of Stoppard's greatest plays! This was crackling, energetic, pulsating theatre, with some beautiful individual performances. Not to be missed!

• Lisa H potters

  Apr 25, 2017

  If you like your theatre light and fluffy and easy on the brain - this is not for you. It takes you on a literary; artistic and modern history journey which is akin to a mental gym session Tom Hollander was outstanding especially in transforming from a reflective OAP to an energetic middle ager almost seamlessly between

• Nicky Jenkins

  Apr 25, 2017

  Fabulous production with some outstanding performances. Tom Hollander was amazing - acting to the end of his fingertips! Brilliant.

• Bjmhunter

  Apr 24, 2017

  Loved it. One of the best pieces of theatre I've seen in ages. Everything was perfection. Script, set and acting.

• A Monro

  Apr 24, 2017

  The play was fantastic - every single member of the cast was hilarious and awesome. Freddie Fox was a particular highlight.

• D.

  Apr 24, 2017

  From the first line, you'll have to pay close attention to keep up with what's happening in this fast-paced yet thought-provoking alt-historical comedy-drama. Set in Zurich during WW1, the play loosely follows Henry Carr, a minor British diplomat and also sometime friend to Lenin, James Joyce and Tristan Tzara (the dadaist), or so he thinks. The play is quick-witted, leaping from dance scenes and clever limerick wordplay to thoughtful recreations of Lenin's flight to Russia. Tom Hollander is a joy and brings the role alive. With heavy homages to Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of being Earnest", this is Oscar Wilde with meaning, questioning the such things as the importance of art, and which trousers to wear to dinner.

• Tri

  Apr 23, 2017

  I enjoyed the show, we had great seats with no body behind us. We could see the stage quite clearly and felt that we were near the actors. Freddie Fox was brilliant. The cast were brilliant too. It is a shame it had to finish next Saturday. Would love to see it again.

• Sheila

  Apr 22, 2017

  Brilliant talented cast

• Tom Reed

  Apr 22, 2017

  Patrick Marber's cast, led by the always-excellent Tom Hollander, perfectly captures the essence of Stoppard's glittering, brilliant text in this revival of Travesties at the Apollo. Hollander's creaking, marginal figure of Henry Carr invites his audience back a hundred years to neutral Switzerland, to debate the still-relevant question of whether 'art' can, or should, be considered Art in an age of industrial warfare and revolutionary politics. Who, in 1917, could've anticipated the Bolshevik revolution from the image of Lenin in Zurich in 1917, a 'mighty oak from a corner room'. Certainly not Carr, who still appreciates the cosmic irony - while his unusually engagee butler, Bennett, turns out to be more astute. Freddy Fox's turn as the young Tzara starts out almost too maniacal to follow, but finds his pace. The send up of the 'Gamorrah-ist' Oscar Wilde's Importance of Being Earnest tea party with Clare Foster's Cecily and Amy Morgan's Gwendolen, to a strummed guitar accompaniment by Peter McDonald's James Joyce, is an ironic joy, while Foster's foxy librarian showgirl showtune stomp is a comic tour de force. My advice: Get tickets while you still can.

• Colin

  Apr 21, 2017

  Excellent Tom Stoppard play with superb acting from the cast including Tom Hollander

• Nigel Osner

  Apr 20, 2017

  You make me pay £75 for a ticket and you want a free review! Well, it was a brilliant production. If you want more, pay me!

• John

  Apr 20, 2017

  Excellent, if you have a good view of the stage (see below).

• Henryk

  Apr 20, 2017

  I attended a matinee performance of Travesties, which was generally excellent, except the last few lines which were drawn out too long. A beautiful theatre, but the bar facilities appeared meagre, especially the grand circle bar, which had only one chair. Overall there could be more sofas / armchairs around the place for patrons to sit during the interval and enjoy their theatrical experience. Otherwise it feels like a conveyer belt, where customers are moved on without a feeling of having been welcome.

• Catherine Langridge

  Apr 20, 2017

  Brilliant. All the actors were amazing, but of course especially Tom Hollander and Freddie Fox. I don't know how they even learned the lines, let alone deliver them so quickly and comprehensibly and convincingly and well - or how they do it every night, let alone twice on Wednesdays! We saw it on Wednesday afternoon and it was fantastic.

• Derek Hill

  Apr 20, 2017

  Even better than when I first saw ut in the seventies. Cast and direction could not be bettered and the whole evening seemed sublime

• Clive

  Apr 20, 2017

  An excellent performance stolen by the Bulter who certainly gave as good as he got - if not better - from Stoppard's very challenging and intricate script.

• Nora

  Apr 19, 2017

  The lead male actor was superb but the other actors were variable and due to the acoustics it was hard to hear the ladies clearly. Overall a good production but cannot give it more than 3 starts due to the variability in acting and voice projection

• Carrie

  Apr 18, 2017

  A wonderful revival cannily directed with a strong ensemble lead by Tom Hollander. From Henry's opening monologue to the final flourish the production is fun and clever, comletely absorbing. Terrific entertainment.

• Caroline

  Apr 16, 2017

  A thoroughly enjoyable play, with excellent performances from all the cast. Would definitely recommend this play you will not be disappointed.

• Trevor & Tanina Osborne

  Apr 16, 2017

  Excellent production with outstanding performances by all members of the cast. We have recommended this to our family and friends ans one of the best performances we have ever seen. Enjoyable , thought-provoking and highly memorable !

• Andy Millward

  Apr 16, 2017

  Please follow the link below to my full review http://andyflavoured.co.uk/movie-reviews/theatricals/travesties-apollo-theatre-london/ Thanks Andy Millward

• Chris Kondic

  Apr 16, 2017

  Not Stoppard's finest, but an interesting vignette on a slice of history. The cast were all right, but the production needed a bit more oomph. Enjoyed Lenin and the butler the most. Of course the one-liners and limericks were funny.

• Robert

  Apr 16, 2017

  Brilliant writing and prolific delivery. All the cast were superb, with Tom Hollander giving a virtuoso performance with a seemingly endless ability to change mood and tone. I cannot praise it enough. If Stoppard had written nothing else he would still be a leading playwright.

• Noreen arrowsmith

  Apr 15, 2017

  Enjoyable journey with one man and his memory of past times. Great performance. Great feeling for the atmosphere of the era.

• A Drabb

  Apr 13, 2017

  One of the best performances I can remember. The whole cast was fantastic

• David Batteson

  Apr 13, 2017

  I enjoyed seeing this production, and was glad to reacquaint myself with a play I saw at it's premiere , which reminded me how brilliant it is!

• Charles Cook

  Apr 13, 2017

  We have long been fans of Stoppard and saw Travesties several times in its original production with John Wood in the title role in 1975. This production did not disappoint, being lively, fast paced and as exciting as the original. Congratulations.

• J Jecko

  Apr 13, 2017

  What a joy! Tom Hollander has never been better and the entire cast was excellent - funny, quick-witted and always topical.

• henry hulme

  Apr 13, 2017

  The play was very clever and amusing, but I found it rather dry without plot or much emotional human interreaction. Tom Hollander was excellent, but I found the 3 people in Zurich caricatures.