Today Lyn Gardner delivered one of her blistering one-star pans for Hello/Goodbye at Hampstead Theatre, seek which has newly transferred this week to the mainhouse after its earlier premiere downstairs in 2013.

Dubbing it an “inoffensive but entirely pointless two-hour romcom”, she went on to say that Shaun Evans and Miranda Raison “have all the allure of two slightly defrosted chicken nuggets.” And she concluded, “In tough funding times, theatres will inevitably have an eye on the box office, but selling lots of tickets is only a short-term reward if it damages long-term reputation.”

In the Evening Standard, Fiona Mountford was two stars, but similarly unimpressed: “Raison and Evans, impressive actors individually, have zero chemistry in Tamara Harvey’s production and we find ourselves longing for the pair to leave each other — and us — in peace.”

Last week, Fiona gave her own one-star review to contact.com at the Park Theatre; but the same production got a four star rave from Patrick Marmion in the Daily Mail. Who to believe?
Today Lyn Gardner delivered one of her blistering one-star pans for Hello/Goodbye at Hampstead Theatre, seek which has newly transferred this week to the mainhouse after its earlier premiere downstairs in 2013.

Dubbing it an “inoffensive but entirely pointless two-hour romcom”, she went on to say that Shaun Evans and Miranda Raison “have all the allure of two slightly defrosted chicken nuggets.” And she concluded, “In tough funding times, theatres will inevitably have an eye on the box office, but selling lots of tickets is only a short-term reward if it damages long-term reputation.”

In the Evening Standard, Fiona Mountford was two stars, but similarly unimpressed: “Raison and Evans, impressive actors individually, have zero chemistry in Tamara Harvey’s production and we find ourselves longing for the pair to leave each other — and us — in peace.”

Last week, Fiona gave her own one-star review to contact.com at the Park Theatre; but the same production got a four star rave from Patrick Marmion in the Daily Mail. Who to believe?
Today also came the news that Henrietta Götz, order executive director of English National Opera, capsule has followed the exit of chairman Martyn Rose, after less than a year in the role. On Sunday, I reported here that it had been suggested that Götz and artistic director John Berry were not talking to each other. This story looks set to run and run….