They are very, very keen that you don’t take photos of Keira Knightley at the Comedy Theatre. Not only were there signs every three feet telling us not to take photos but the staff had obviously been told to tell every single person that it was forbidden and the gentleman at the door who usually searches bags for bombs or guns or ninja throwing stars or your own booze seemed only focused on getting us to answer one question: “Do you have a camera?”
We meekly said “no” of course, but at the time I felt like asking “So what if we do? Will the world really come to an end if I show my friends a photo of one of the most photographed women in the world on stage?” In retrospect, a more appropriate response would have been “Even if we did, do you think it would be any use given that the stage is barely visible from our £30 balcony seats?”
Yes, The Children’s Hour is not one for bargain hunters. Even in this first preview, and even with incredibly distant seats, the tickets for this show are eye-wateringly expensive. At least our seats were in the centre and were seats – spare a thought for those standing at the back of the balcony and on the side. I can say with certainty that the viewpoint offered from there is not ideal.
Anyway. The play. It’s all about two young women Karen (Keira Knightley) and Martha (Elisabeth Moss) who run a girls boarding school in New England in the 1930s. One of their students turns out to be a truly hateful little ball of spite (played very convincingly by Bryony Hannah, who I genuinely despised by the end of the evening) and accuse them of being lovers. The child’s grandmother (Ellen Burstyn, overdoing it a tad but otherwise very good), also Karen’s fiance’s aunt, takes action to close down the school, thereby ruining everybody’s lives. Interestingly, the plot is actually based on a case in Edinburgh in 1811, during which the judges declared female homosexuality to be “imaginary” and “as likely as thunder playing the tune of God Save The King.”
The central theme of the play – that of the terrible impact that lies can have – is essentially the same one that has been covered previously in much more interesting fashion in The Crucible or even, with apologies for the obviousness of the reference given Miss Knightley’s involvement, Atonement. The secret ingredient here, a soupcon  of sexual liberation, doesn’t really add much to the recipe. Indeed, the central driving force behind the plot – that female homosexuality is shameful and that the accusation of such is libellous – goes pretty much unchallenged in the text.
As a play, The Children’s Hour really didn’t work for me. We spend the first half largely in the company of the children (Lisa Backwell, Isabella Brazier-Jones, Poppy Carter, Marama Corlett, Amy Dawson, Isabel Ellison and Eve Ponsonby – all turning in solid performances) while the second half is devoted to sparring between various combinations of the adults. While this is necessary for the plot, it leads to a disjointed feeling and leaves us rather unattached to the central characters – and for a play which relies on the audience having a sense of indignation at injustice, this is a real problem.
There are also some pretty uninspiring performances here. Without wishing to put my head into the lion’s mouth which is the internet fan club of Elisabeth Moss, this is not a stellar performance from her. Despite being about the right age, she comes across as too young for the role, her bitterness at Karen’s relationship with her fiance never feels believable and I have rarely been less moved at a tragic finale in the theatre.
As for Miss Knightley, she is really surprisingly weak here. Even giving her the benefit of the doubt – after all, this is a (very very expensive) preview -Â on her accent which seems to be only hold up for fifteen seconds at a time, there’s little to get your teeth into with her thin (no pun intended) performance. Even her biggest scene, an Ibsen-esque effort at female emancipation in the second act, never really leaves the ground except for the contribution of Tobias Menzies. Having said that, it probably didn’t help that a couple behind me were having a prolonged negotiation with the staff about whether they would delete a photo from their phone.
Nevertheless, it is Mr Menzies as the loyal fiance Joe, rather than the two female leads, who emerges as the unexpected star of this show. His unshakable man of integrity character has the potential to be flat and mundane but he crafts a fully nuanced person out of it. He is often the most believable and compelling actor on stage.
This isn’t a bad play, and it isn’t really badly performed, but it is pretty lifeless and uninspiring in places. If you haven’t already booked, I would save your cash.
I couldn’t agree more – with the exception of Joe. Tobias’ sad excuse of a New England accent was more like Martin Sheen playing JFK than any real Kennedy.
I agree with much of your review. However, Keira Knightly was the saving grace in a play overrun by over-acting, wooden performances and a disjointed story line. Her connection to the character shone through in the second half of the performance – unfortunately she also exposed Elizabeth Moss as inadequate for the part. Perhaps we were offered a more intimate portrayal of her character, being in row D and, as such, very close to the stage. Was it the acting or the directing that left me underwhelmed? I’m not sure, but Keira Knightly left me in no doubt as to her ability to act and, leaving me with goosebumps in the final scene.
I think the article is spot on.
Bryony Hannah was fantastic as Mary and a real hateful character, and the other girls put in good performances – although I think the writing could have given them a little more fun and playfulness in the first act – and given the audience at least SOME comedy in the Comedy Theatre.
Unfortunately, the leads were very disappointing – waivering accents (especially KK) and unconvincing performances. This was typified at the end of the performance, where the acting was really very poor and totally unbelievable. A suicide had just taken place and the acting came across as very unemotional and controlled. No shriek of disbelief, no shouting of pure hatred, no physical anger and despair of how cruel this lie had been. It all just seemed to lack passion.
We love the theatre and were really very excited by the cast and thought of the play – but at £85 a ticket, it was a big (very pricey) let down.
The number of staff and ‘security’ was also pretty off putting. It felt like the Nato talks might have been happening back stage.
Anyhow.. still looking forward to Mad Men season 5!
Steve, if you actually read the play, that’s how the ending is supposed to be – controlled, despondent, hopeless. There are no cries of outrage.
(So it has nothing to do with the acting – the actors did their jobs if they played it emotionally sterile.) I think you might want to take a closer look at the play to see why Hellman chose to end it this way, rather than any such histrionics.
I’m not sure if I was at the same play as your early reviewers. Perhaps at the preview/first night versions, things had not fully come together. But last night, the full house was mesmerised. No fidgeting or coughing. This audience was spellbound – just as the audience apparently were over seventy years ago when this remarkable play was first performed. The acting was simply superb: Knightley and Moss – with comparatively little stage experience – were utterly at home and believable in their roles. Surely any review has to mention Ian Rickson’s confident and stylish direction, Mark Thompson’s evocative sets, Neil Austin’s atmospheric lighting and the soundscapes of Stephen Warbeck and Paul Groothuis. OK, the tickets are expensive. But this production is worth every penny. Sheer perfection!
I thought the play was absolutely awful and left at the interval. My life is too short.
I completely agree. It was hands down the worst play I have seen in years.
We loved the play.It perhaps started slowly but by the end was great. Performances were strong and the audience were fully appreciative. Great atmosphere and a real buzz. Can’t comprehend so many negative comments??
Hey Valerie. There are some sad people who get a kick out of slagging off high profile figures in public. As school girls/boys, they were probably rather like nasty Mary in this production – which might explain their problems with the show. I’m saving up to see it all over again!
Thought it would be great turned out to be dull and lifeless with wooden characters. Noticed some people left at the interval but I stuck it out. I don’t blame the actors its the script that is bad and had no emotional attachment.
I agree with the main review – nothing really to add re actors, script – spot on. A comment though about the staff and their constant search for someone somewhere that might be taking a photo. In the second half especially this was very intrusive – with constant marching up and down (creaking) walkways. It was a real distraction for those of us at the end of a row. When challenged the staff memeber replied “People taking photos is more disruptive to the whole audience”. Utter rubbish. If you go, choose a seat in the middle of a row, far from their heavy handed, and unnecessary “security” work.
Danielle.. apologies I didn’t fully digest the play before watching it.. I thought it was ok to see a play and have a comment on it, without reading the script, but maybe not in a ‘lovie’s world’.. alas.. feisty ending or controlled ending.. it was simply not believable. That.. was my problem.
And John.. you silly sausage. I love KK and Moss for all the work they have done.. and we were incredibly excited about watching it/them… I just thought they and the script were weak. No childish ‘slag’off’… merely disappointment.
Here’s hoping that it has improved.. and the security guards take a wander and have a cheeky ice cream and let the audience get on with watching the play.
And John.. save your money and pop along to the Menier Chocolate Factory in London Bridge to watch the Invisible Man.
A brilliant little show.. full of fun .. and the A list celeb that is Gary Wilmot.. was outstanding. (again.. no childish-slag off required).
That’s a really fair and perceptive summary.
On the whole I enjoyed the play, however I was very disappointed by the smoking which made for an uncomfortable time; especially for my pregnant girlfriend.
Love your review and wish I had read it before booking tickets. I am also glad that I am not the only one who didn’t find Bryony’s portrayal of Hannah that convincing. Keira Knightley is stagey for most parts of the play up until the scene where her Karen and Joe decide that is is best to go their separate ways. Here, KN really comes into her own. But overall, it is a flawed play with some unconvincing plot developments/characterisations and I do truly wish I had saved my money.
I thought the article was spot on. I thought it was awful with many people leaving at the interval. I wish I had too.
It’s surprising for me to hear, that there were so much troubles with the security staff and the prohibition of taking photos. If I hadn’t read it here, I still wouldn’t know that it wasn’t allowed to take photos. No one told me and I even didn’t notice that there was security staff around during the play. Maybe that was, because I was sitting in the middle of a row …
Well, when I and my brother saw the show (4.2.), I think there was no one leaving at the intervall. Ofcourse it had it’s ups and downs, but I can’t agree that it was a waste of money. I really wonder, that there are so many people here posting, that it was an awful and wooden play. I think it was awesome, Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss performed very well and believably and the performance of Bryony Hannah was splendid. (Ok, afterwards I wasn’t able to hate her character, because the performance was so outstanding and she also is pretty cute ;-). )
To refer to the the original review: I can agree, that there is a real break in the middle of the play. But I am not sure, if that really breaks the complete story. It’s more like a real big introduction to the heart of the matter. But I can’t say that Tobias Menzies was the unexpected star of the show. I am not about to say, that he was bad, but the star really was Bryony Hannah. I also had some problems to understand Menzies during the first half of the play due to his accent. But that is, because I am german, so thats no deficit here.
To get right to the point: If you are willing to pay the 85 pounds to see Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss on stage, you will get great performances of the stars with a brilliant Bryony Hannah on top. If I had the chance, to come to London before 7th of may, I would watch it again.
Correction: We saw it on the 2nd of april, not on the 4th of february.
I saw this play a couple of days ago, and i thought it was beyond incredible. the cast was perfect, the story was deeply, deeply moving, and the delivery and acting went beyond anything i could have hoped for or expected, with simply remarkable performances from the entire cast. Though it has to be said that Keira Knightley surely stole the show with her performance, overwhelming with its power and emotion. Her beautiful portrayal of Karen in its deep intensity moved me to tears.
There is no doubt in my mind that this play was a showcase of the best of acting.
Breathtakingly stunning, I’m already dreaming of seeing it again.
Try though i may, there are no words that would do this play justice. the best i can do is “out of this world”
If anyone is after acting at its very best, this is a must-see. Moss and Knightley are brilliantly, mesmerisingly perfect.
I saw this play on monday 25th April and was very lucky to have got a front row seat for £15. Although i see alot of Theatre, I had never heard of this play before and i had also never really heard of Keira Knightley or Elizabeth Moss. During the first half, i didn’t have a clue where this play was going, but I thought the second half was absolutely outstanding..Elisabeth Moss gave an incredibly powerful performance and Keira Knightley also gave a stunning performance. Both actresses really made this play work and i still can’t believe i saw this great play for only £15. Hurry up and see this play before it ends and don’t walk out during the first half, because the second half is fantastic…