Reviews: Three Days in the Country at the National Theatre
A reviews round-up for Three Days in the Country at the National Theatre
Ivan Turgenev’s passionate, moving comedy, A Month in the Country, has been a source of inspiration for films, a ballet and the plays of Chekhov. Patrick Marber’s adaptation condensed into Three Days in the Country is considerably shorter than the original which was 4 hours long without an interval.
Mark Thompson’s design has brought this 19th Century aristocratic Russian play into the modern era and the performances of John Simm, Amanda Drew and Mark Gatiss seem to have hit their mark with the critics.
STORY
Russia. A beautiful country estate. The mid-nineteenth century.
A handsome new tutor brings reckless, romantic desire to an eccentric household. Over three days one summer the young and the old will learn lessons in love: first love and forbidden love, maternal love and platonic love, ridiculous love and last love. The love left unsaid and the love which must out.
CAST
The cast includes Nigel Betts, Nicholas Bishop, Paige Carter, Matthew Lloyd Davies, Amanda Drew, Mark Extance, Lynn Farleigh, Mark Gatiss, Debra Gillett, Gawn Grainger, Mateo Oxley, Royce Pierreson, Cassie Raine, Lily Sacofsky, John Simm, Cherrelle Skeete and Lisa Tramontin.
“Patrick Marber’s compressed Turgenev adaptation is a masterly piece of work” Read more
The Daily Telegraph
★★★★
“Patrick Marber turns out another gem”
“Amanda Drew glides magnificently between icy withdrawal and barely suppressed ardour for Royce Pierreson’s tall, brooding, enticingly enigmatic Belyaev”
“Adding comic spice to this potentially sour stew bubbling with unrequited passion, John Simm enlists our sympathy as Natalya’s perennial sidelined love interest Rakitin – a volatile mix of attentive puppyish fidelity and plaintive cynicism. And Mark Gatiss brings his usual air of winning English camp to the role, so familiar in Chekhov” Read more
The Guardian
★★★
“Mark Gatiss is excellent.” “Amanda Drew admirably shows that Natalya is both a victim of passion and an active manipulator, John Simm turns Rakitin from a languid observer into a figure embittered by amorous disappointment and Royce Pierreson as the tutor implies that he and a maid, who at one point he voraciously kisses, represent the new world order.” Read more
The Stage
★★★★
“Patrick Marber caps his hat-trick at the National Theatre… His condensed and reworked version is full of humour and yearning”
“Emotionally eloquent and often very funny reworking of Turgenev” Read more
The Observer
★★★★
“Beautifully performed, bitterly funny.” Read more
Time Out
★★★★
‘Impressive. Some phenomenal acting - Mark Gatiss is perfect, Amanda Drew is splendid, John Simm is astonishing.’ Time Out Read more
Daily Express
★★★★
"This third hit in a row crowns an exceptional year for Patrick Marber at the National.' Read more
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