22-05-2025
Audiences are turned off by long plays — aren't we all?
I don't know about you, but I know what I don't want in theatre. I don't want shows that drift on and on … oh, except the shows that justify every moment of their three-hour-plus running time, such as Jerusalem or The Lehman Trilogy. Maybe the incoming Broadway smash Stereophonic (190min) will fit the same bill, as the New York reviews suggest it will.
I don't want shows that feel like they are serving short measures either, not for these prices. Oh, except for excellent interval-free plays in the West End at the moment, such as The Fifth Step (with Martin Freeman and Jack Lowden, 90min) or Retrograde (about Sidney Poiter, 90min). Or, a few months ago, Macbeth (110min) with David Tennant and Cush
