Machinal Reviews Round-up

"Richard Jones’s supercharged staging of Sophie Treadwell’s 1920s masterpiece hits like a fist"

"Punched in the stomach, but equipped with a new pair of contact lenses. It is a long time since I left a theatre feeling as I did after seeing Machinal. Richard Jones has directed a skewering production of Sophie Treadwell’s 1928 play, which is generally hailed as a masterpiece of theatrical expressionism."

"... Jones’s staging is singularly complete: every sinew alarmed, from the snap of a black rubber glove to the glimpse of a flower trapped in a glass bowl; everything galvanised by a first-rate performance from Rosie Sheehy."

"Buffy Davis as blank-faced Mother, Tim Frances as smug Husband are particularly strong, but this is really an ensemble evening, in which design plays as active a role as any human."

"Sophie Treadwell’s impressionist masterpiece is turned into a pulverising rapture in Richard Jones’s astonishing production, starring Rosie Sheehy"

"... Richard Jones’s staggering revival of Sophie Treadwell’s 1928 expressionist classic"

"Jones’s production is a sort of infernal anxiety machine, percussive and remorseless, each hallucinatory scene immaculately crafted with its own distinct mood. Although the tone of the story changes repeatedly, catharsis is banned here. Hyemi Shin’s retina-searing set is unforgettable, Benjamin Grant’s sound design skin-crawling unnerving, Adam Silverman’s lighting exquisitely unsettling, Sarah Fahie’s movement ravishingly creepy."

"Sheehy is astonishing. There’s something almost Hogarthian about how each scene sees her nail a different aspect of alienation, from her opening panic attack on the subway to her excruciating honeymoon with Frances’s Husband, her time in hospital after the birth of a daughter (who is represented only by the pounding of a pneumatic drill), her pathetic gratefulness to the man she hooks up with."

"Jones’s hyper-stylized production is audacious from start to finish, but the scope of his ambitions becomes apparent at the end, when a caged Young Woman is put on trial."

"1928 play about a mentally fragile murderess is astonishingly modern"

"Staged at London’s Old Vic, this brilliant, stark production is led by an outstanding performance from Rosie Sheehy"

"... this astonishingly modern, expressionist play. In Richard Jones’s super, stark production (seen at Bath’s Ustinov Studio last year), it tears off the stage as if written yesterday, led by an outstanding performance from Rosie Sheehy."

"Treadwell works the basics of Snyder’s story into an intense drama about female oppression and the soul-sapping effect of the rat-race."

"We feel trapped, together with Sheehy’s heroine, who frequently gasps for air or slides along the walls towards the doors and windows. The noises — of the subway, a ticking clock, a pneumatic drill — seem to bore into her"

"Sheehy is superb: frozen at some points, juddering violently at others, her character feels profoundly alienated from a clattering world that cares little for her wellbeing or her state of mind."

"Rosie Sheehy astonishes in this neglected 1920s classic"

"Based on the true story of a woman executed for murdering her husband, this revival of Sophie Treadwell’s drama is truly exceptional"

"There is terrifying athleticism to these eruptions from Sheehy, her body twisting as she cries out. But there is also a subtlety: the climaxes see no obvious switch in her performance mode, instead appearing as the inevitable, natural outcome of what we have seen before. It is a masterclass in how to play a character at the end of her tether."

"Feminist or political readings are certainly possible, but director Richard Jones’ aim seems rather to focus on painting a remarkably dark portrait of mental torment. Striking moments of dark comedy help to balance the pessimism, while a pervading sense of curiosity about the human mind helps ensure that events feel more to be a tragedy by historical outcome, rather than by theatrical design."

"The Long Island housewife sent to the electric chair"

"Rosie Sheehy shines in a thriller of a play at the Old Vic"

"Does the colloquial language, the knotty emotions and talk of sex seem a century old? No, for all the period trappings here, rendered so nimbly in a spare yet angular set by Hyemi Shin, Machinal scrubs up very modern. Does the show, as it takes us from one unwise but understandable decision to another, have a lot of narrative surprises? Less so. Some scenes go on a good chunk after you’ve got their point."

"The outstanding acting makes up for much of that. It’s motored by a star-making performance by Rosie Sheehy as Helen."

"It’s not without longueurs, yet it’s a show that keeps humming in your head long after the final blackout."