Les Parents Terribles, Trafalgar Studios | reviews, news & interviews
Les Parents Terribles, Trafalgar Studios
Les Parents Terribles, Trafalgar Studios
Cocteau's opium-fuelled farce is given full throttle by Frances Barber and co
Monday, 29 November 2010
Smotherly love: Frances Barber and Tom Byam ShawAlastair Muir
This is the final production in the Donmar Warehouse’s 12-week season at Trafalgar Studios (which showcases the work of its resident assistant directors) and is a revival of Jeremy Sams’s translation of Jean Cocteau’s play - first seen in Sean Mathias’s acclaimed production at the National Theatre in 1994, with a cast that included Jude Law, Alan Howard and Sheila Gish.
This is the final production in the Donmar Warehouse’s 12-week season at Trafalgar Studios (which showcases the work of its resident assistant directors) and is a revival of Jeremy Sams’s translation of Jean Cocteau’s play - first seen in Sean Mathias’s acclaimed production at the National Theatre in 1994, with a cast that included Jude Law, Alan Howard and Sheila Gish.
There’s an awful lot of emoting occurring here (Barber certainly gives it full choke) and never has a chaise longue seen so much action
Share this article
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more Theatre
Sappho, Southwark Playhouse Elephant review - a glitzy celebration of sapphic love
Too much camp and not enough content in this tribute to the Greek poet
Twelfth Night, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre review - burlesque overwhelms the darker notes in this mixed revival
Queer themes and music take centre stage in a café setting
Multiple Casualty Incident, The Yard Theatre review - NGO medics in training have problems of their own
Sami Ibrahim's play examines ethics in a war zone, but pivots to a gimmicky love story
Spirited Away, London Coliseum review - spectacular re-imagining of beloved film
Growing up with Chihiro/Sen is overwhelming, enlightening and beautiful
Laughing Boy, Jermyn Street Theatre review - impassioned agitprop drama
Strong ensemble work highlights the plight of people with learning disabilities
Minority Report, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre review - ill-judged sci-fi
Philip K Dick’s science fiction short story fares far better on screen
Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York), Criterion Theatre review - rueful and funny musical gets West End upgrade
A Brit and a New Yorker struggle to find common ground in lively new British musical
Testmatch, Orange Tree Theatre review - Raj rage, old and new, flares in cricket dramedy
Winning performances cannot overcome a scattergun approach to a ragbag of issues
Banging Denmark, Finborough Theatre review - lively but confusing comedy of modern manners
Superb cast deliver Van Badham's anti-incel barbs and feminist wit with gusto
London Tide, National Theatre review - haunting moody river blues
New play-with-songs version of Dickens’s 'Our Mutual Friend' is a panoramic Victori-noir
Machinal, The Old Vic review - note-perfect pity and terror
Sophie Treadwell's 1928 hard hitter gets full musical and choreographic treatment
An Actor Convalescing in Devon, Hampstead Theatre review - old school actor tells old school stories
Fact emerges skilfully repackaged as fiction in an affecting solo show by Richard Nelson
Add comment