If Only

Any new work by David Edgar is going to be greeted with great expectation. There is little doubting the man’s skill and intellect both of which could be seen at work here in this new work for Chichester. If all this sounds like an apology then forgive me, but I just didn’t warm to this roller-coaster ride of a play. I could see the work that had gone into it, sense how hard the cast were working to deliver it and even laughed at some of the satire. Sadly it was so densely written and so packed with words that at moments it felt like a Gilbert and Sullivan patter song – but without a good tune. If only it had been less wordy, more balanced in pace and rhythm I am sure I would have enjoyed it more and heard more too. I simply didn’t get time to think or to laugh – and there were plenty of great lines. The cast, all excellent, must have left the stage in a blind sweat, especially Eve Ponsonby who also had to deal with the most cliched depiction of teenage speech patterns whilst delivering some of the better gags.

Chichester Festival Theatre, 20 June 2013

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