Serenading Louie, Donmar Warehouse

Little-known Lanford Wilson served up with anomie to spare - and excellent acting

by Matt WolfFriday, 19 February 2010

Jason vs. Jason: An American face-off, ca. 1970Hugo Glendinning

American spiritual anomie, that beloved realm of cultural enquiry that has fuelled the likes of Revolutionary Road and Ordinary People and much else besides, gets its latest theatrical airing in the form of Serenading Louie, a Lanford Wilson play that is almost as infrequently seen States-side as it is here. Now, here it is at the Donmar, in a mournful, acutely pitched production from the director Simon Curtis (Cranford) that doesn't shrink from confronting head on the abyss into which the characters are falling fast. Hang on for what is a flawed but, if you stick with it, mesmerising ride, featuring several of the finest performances currently to be found on a London stage.

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