Reviews
Overall:
3.40The Times (11Jan01): Energy and glee mark Supple's cast and Hall's translation, which is crisp, inventive and packed with insults. 3
Daily Mail (11Jan01): Tim Supple's production is built around a remarkable performance by a remarkable young actor, Jason Watkins. Watkins plays Truffaldino as a capering somersaulting zany as if born to the rôle. 3
Time Out (11Jan01): The joy of the evening is Jason Watkins' moonfaced clown Truffaldino, the servant of the title, who lives in a topsy-turvy world of his own. Hall has come up with a lively, trenchant translation, writing some good new jokes to replace Goldoni's old ones. Michelle Butterly is stridently contemporary as the uppity maid Smeraldina, who has a sound understanding of the way men work. The other characters gain by being played with greater than usual realism. 3
Daily Telegraph (11Jan01): Lee Hall has come up with a superb new version of the play that brilliantly combines hilarity and darkness. With his pallid face and spiky hair, Watkins miraculously combines the insolence of Johnny Rotten, the cringing servility of Norman Wisdom and the splendidly aggrieved quality of Terry in The Likely Lads. Add to these a formidable physical dexterity and a cheeky, audience-baiting charm that never cloys, and you have a performance approaching comic perfection. Such richness in what is essentially a caper comedy strikes me as a rare achievement. 3
USER (11Jan01): Sharp writing by [Lee Hall] has given [Tim Supple] and the cast ample room to make this a vehicle for showing off [Jason Wilkins]' comic and acrobatic skills. Brilliant! 5
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