The reviews are in for Dominic Cooke’s revival of Caryl Churchill’s 1979 breakthrough play Cloud 9 , and the show has been met with near-universal critical acclaim, with reviewers praising an “immaculate” production driven by a transformative set design.
Caryl Churchill’s landmark Cloud 9 returned to the West End on 2 November 2026, and the critics have shared their views on the show, including its cast of doubled roles that illuminate the play’s themes of sexual repression, imperialism and liberation.
The production by Dominic Cooke at the National Theatre’s Lyttelton Theatre explores British colonialism in Victorian Africa before leaping 25 years to 1979 London. It is performed by a cast of actors playing multiple roles across the two time periods, and charts the sexual and gender-political journey of its central characters as they navigate the legacy of imperial repression.
Critics were most impressed with the cast’s accomplished performances and Miriam Buether’s transformative set design. Where they were divided, however, was on whether Churchill’s treatment of sexual transgression and colonialism has aged well enough to truly speak to today’s audience.
The verdict: critics agree this is a triumphant revival of Churchill’s best work, powered by strong set design and uniformly excellent performances that illuminate the play’s attack on Victorian sexual dysfunction and colonial brutality, but one questioned if its content has aged well for modern theatregoers.
Critic’s comparison
| Publication | Rating | The Key Takeaway |
| WhatsOnStage | ★★★★★ | “It’s a great play, superbly staged, dazzlingly rich.” |
| The Guardian | ★★★★ | “This crisp, handsome and note-perfect revival lands in exactly the right hands with director Dominic Cooke.” |
| BroadwayWorld | ★★★★ | “Churchill is a reminder of what genuine provocation looks like.” |
| Time Out | ★★★★ | “An immaculate revival.” |
| The Stage | ★★★★ | “Extraordinary and brilliantly provocative.” |
| The Standard | ★★★ | “Resonates more for its historical significance than its contemporary appeal.” |
The reviews: what critics loved about Cloud 9
The transformed set design: Multiple critics called out Miriam Buether’s design as a standout element. TimeOut’s Andrzej Lukowski described it as “jaw-dropping,” while BroadwayWorld noted that“the second half inhabits the collapsed remains of the first half’s set, a physical destruction of the world we have just witnessed.” WhatsOnStage also praised it as “wonderful,” and noted its dual purpose of revealing both the claustrophobia of the colonial world, and The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar thought that the set design “dazzles.”
The cast and their doubled roles: The majority of reviewers praised the ensemble uniformly. WhatsOnStage called the performances “detailed and eloquent,” and TimeOut singled out Stuart Thompson for shifting from “loony tunes uber Brit Clive to bolshy toddler Cathy” with particular skill. BroadwayWorld, meanwhile, highlighted Thompson’s “distinction between a distinct vocal presence” and Eloka Ivo drew praise as well.
Churchill’s attack on Victorian imperialism and sexual repression: TimeOut’s review described the first half as “a ferocious takedown of the Victorians,” suggesting that “the zenith of British colonialism was fuelled by sexual frustration and gender confusion.” BroadwayWorld noted that the production “exposes what has been conveniently left out” of national narratives, asking “what would a third act look like?” in our own era. The Stage called it “extraordinary.”
The 1979 second half’s prescience on gender and sexuality: WhatsOnStage highlighted how Betty’s “final acceptance of herself and the people around her is unexpectedly and heart-raisingly emotional,” while TimeOut’s Lukowski praised Churchill’s prescient depiction of Edward as essentially trans “even if that language doesn’t exist” in the world of the play.
The reviews: what fell flat for Cloud 9
Whether the play’s content has aged well: The Standard’s Nick Curtis raised the most substantial reservations, arguing that the play’s treatment of pederasty, sexual exploitation of a native underclass, and mockery of effeminate masculinity feels “distinctly uncomfortable” in 2026, “particularly with celebrity predators currently all over the headlines.” He added that the cross-gender casting and symbolic choices that were revolutionary in 1979 “no longer look so surprising or clever,” and that the ’70s permissiveness themes explored in the second half “haven’t dated well.” Curtis concluded the work essentially now feels like a “historical artefact rather than a work that speaks to today.”
The audience-on-stage device: BroadwayWorld’s Josh Maughan was the sole reviewer to flag reservations about the decision to bring audience members onto the stage in the second half. The critic said the decision “risks feeling like a gimmick,” but shared that the production“just about gets away with it.” Maughan also highlighted that “the piece’s otherwise impressive tightness begins to waver” in the second half.
The back story
Cloud 9, written and first performed in 1979, is Caryl Churchill’s breakthrough play and a landmark work of political theatre. The production premiered at the Royal Court Theatre and has become a classic of the modern repertoire.
Its structure of a century passing in 25 years of stage time, with actors playing multiple roles across racial and gender lines, was revolutionary at the time and remains theatrically audacious today.
Cloud 9 is structured in two distinct halves. Act One is set in Victorian Africa during the height of British colonialism, presented as bawdy farce, while Act Two jumps to 1979 London, where three of the colonial family members reappear 25 years older in a Britain transformed by the sexual revolution, feminism, and LGBTQ+ liberation.
This National Theatre revival marks a major statement about the enduring relevance of Churchill’s work and her ongoing influence on British theatre. Churchill, now 88, is still widely performed but rarely writes new work, and Cloud 9 remains her most celebrated play.
The cast includes:
- Clive/Cathy: Sam Troughton (A Taste of Honey, Spring Awakening)
- Betty/Edward: Stuart Thompson
- Joshua/Gerry: Eloka Ivo
- Lin/Mrs. Saunders/Ellen: Rebecca Humphries
In terms of the play’s creative team, its Director is Dominic Cooke (Les Liaisons Dangereuses ), who brings a sensitive, thoughtful approach to the play’s political and theatrical audacity. The set and costume design by Miriam Buether, meanwhile, transforms the show’s meaning between acts, is particularly noteworthy due its revolving, in-the-round staging.
Plan your visit to Cloud 9
- Venue: National Theatre Lyttelton Theatre, London
- Booking until: 13 January 2027
- Runtime: 2 hours and 50 minutes (including an interval)
What are the critics saying about Cloud 9?
"It's a great play, superbly staged, dazzlingly rich."
"There's something magnificent about seeing one of the great works of British political theatre so clearly realised and rethought. There are no gimmicks here, just clarity and respect."
"The writing is explicit. These are characters who are all discovering their sexual beings, however non-binary and gender-fluid that might be, and in finding themselves, they might actually begin to shake off the entrenched attitudes that shape society."
"Extraordinary and brilliantly provocative."
"Dominic Cooke directs a quicksilver staging of Caryl Churchill's dazzling 1979 gender-political drama."
"An immaculate revival."
"Dominic Cooke's revival follows recent Churchill productions in taking a play originally done on a modest budget and throwing the kitchen sink at it. Part of the reason it feels so fresh is Miriam Buether's jaw-dropping set."
"It’s dated a bit. But we’re given plenty of compensation via that astounding set change. And what a cast! Although Cooke’s production could afford to ditch the doubled roles, that’s half of what makes it fun."
Churchill is still going strong at 88, but she doesn’t write ‘em like this anymore: her modern plays are short, neutron-dense works of shimmering intellect. Cloud 9 is more human than all that, a little more tied to its era, but no less genius, I think – and this is an immaculate revival.
"Caryl Churchill's magnificent Cloud 9 reaches for the skies."
"This crisp, handsome and note-perfect revival lands in exactly the right hands with director Dominic Cooke."
"Miriam Buether’s set design dazzles too, giving Churchill’s meta-theatricality an elegance in the first half where the colonial homestead is framed by red curtains and surrounded by African forest."
"The play still has great cumulative emotional power, alongside asking philosophical questions of all the people we contain within us which history will or will not allow out."
"Churchill is a reminder of what genuine provocation looks like."
"Cloud 9 is outrageous, uncomfortable and often confronting but never simply for the sake of it. Perhaps the most interesting question the play raises is one of ownership."
"Dominic Cooke’s revival understands the importance of the play’s theatrical contrasts. Its first half is unapologetically camp, deliberately ridiculous and British in its pomp."
"The second half takes a noticeably more grounded approach and these characters suddenly feel much more recognisable to us. What is particularly interesting is how much of the first half remains present in the second[...] Miriam Buether’s set design reinforces this exceptionally."
Cooke’s direction is assured in navigating the play’s theatrical shifts. The transitions between scenes in the first half feel deliberately traditional and staggering, before becoming considerably more fluid."
"The cast [is] strong throughout, with Stuart Thompson particularly exciting to watch."
"Unfortunately, though Dominic Cooke's strongly cast production is as fluent as one could wish, the play resonates more for its historical significance than its contemporary appeal. The humour feels broad and coarse and some aspects have not aged well... it now feels like a historical artefact rather than a work that speaks to today."
"The first half is played as farce, with a lot of front-facing mugging, as if the cast are posing for a box camera. The second, after a dramatic visual coup by designer Miriam Buether[...]which I won’t spoil, is broadly naturalistic and played with the house lights mostly up on the audience."
"The performances are spot on."
National Theatre - Lyttelton Theatre, London
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