Reviews
“TRIUMPHANT. ROCK 'N' ROLL is arguably STOPPARD'S FINEST PLAY. He is a MAGICIAN, and this is a passionately acted, decades-spanning tale of love, revolution and music. RUFUS SEWELL’s performance is that rare thing in acting, in which you see all the layers of a single life. SINEAD CUSACK is MARVELOUS. Her bravura presentation is the emotional touchstone of the play. Stoppard treats the characters of ROCK ‘N’ ROLL with a deep affection I've never encountered from him before, and the rhythms of TREVOR NUNN’s swift-footed staging had me HOOKED.”
“FOUR STARS! FUNNY and ENTHRALLING! ROCK ‘N’ ROLL offers you something to take out ot the theater you didn’t come in with. Stoppard has focused the same lens and the same dramatic process he used in THE COAST OF UTOPIA on his own time -- And it’s now even more sharply focused! Director TREVOR NUNN is a WIZARD at revealing the human face of Stoppard behind all the nervy, nervous brilliance. He has here a MARVELOUS team of actors. RUFUS SEWELL is MASTERLY – he doesn’t just inhabit this role, he lives it, ticking off the years with meticulous truth.”
“ROCK ‘N’ ROLL touches the heart while stimulating the mind. An intellectually challenging, intensely theatrical piece of work that is destined to be talked about wherever playgoers gather. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.”
“Tom Stoppard is A DRAMATIC UNIVERSE UNTO HIMSELF, a writer who fills his plays with big ideas and bold conclusions. He stays true to form in ROCK ‘N’ ROLL.”
“EXHILIRATING, TOUCHING and REMARKABLE! Stoppard’s imagination is BUOYANT. An impassioned contemplation of rock, revolution and the end of communism. The three stars are SUPERB: Rufus Sewell is CAPTIVATING. Sinead Cusack matches him in the power of subtle persuasion. Brian Cox is HIGHLY ENTERTAINING. Director Trevor Nunn’s RESONANT production CRACKLES! This is Stoppard’s MOST HEARTENING STATEMENT IN YEARS, a play in which we happily groove to the guitar licks of history!”
“SPLENDID, ILLUMINATING ENTERTAINMENT that resonates with emotion. The intoxicating spirit of freedom flows throughout this heartfelt and humane drama. The amazing RUFUS SEWELL anchors the richly embroidered story – he is FLAWLESS. BRIAN COX is MAGNIFICENT and SINEAD CUSACK is EXTRAORDINARY. Director TREVOR NUNN keeps the scenes moving with remarkable fluidity. There always will be ROCK ‘N’ ROLL.”
“ROCK ‘N’ ROLL commands admiration by being unafraid to make demands on its audience. It considers the way we think, feel, grieve and believe, using music as the central, overstretching metaphor for revolution, protest, liberation and emotional survival. RUFUS SEWELL gives a WONDERFUL performance PACKED WITH HUMANITY.”
“SPECTACULAR PERFORMANCES FROM TOP TO BOTTOM! Stoppard’s dialogue is DELIGHTFULLY WITTY.”
“VERY CLEVER, QUITE ENTERTAINING and SUPERBLY ACTED by BRIAN COX, SINEAD CUSACK and RUFUS SEWELL.”
“ENORMOUSLY SATISFYING and EMOTIONALLY GRIPPING! I will not soon forget Rufus Sewell’s journey. Sinead Cusack is ASTONISHINGLY GOOD, delivering one of the single most powerful sequences in all of Stoppard.”
“An extreme-sport expedition into the jagged coasts of Utopia. STOPPARD is a theatrical provocateur of wit and ever-dazzling erudition. BRIAN COX plays Max with poignant bow-wow ferocity, and SINEAD CUSACK is REMARKABLE.”
“YOU’LL BE ECSTATIC! Tom Stoppard's new masterpiece is fascinating, with a superb cast.”
"A BRILLIANTLY CONSTRUCTED, INTELLIGENT yet RICHLY EMOTIONAL play that ends in a BURST OF GLORY. Directed by the MASTERLY Trevor Nunn, Rufus Sewell gives a FASCINATING performance, Brian Cox acts with vociferous gruffness and Sinead Cusack plays movingly in a performance that builds in power."
"Very good acting from director Trevor Nunn's ensemble. Sewell and Cusack SHINE BRIGHT."
“If you like to get a real intellectual workout at the theater, ROCK ‘N’ ROLL may be the play for you. The central performances are REMARKABLE. BRIAN COX is FIERY and AMUSING, and SINEAD CUSACK is EXCELLENT.”
“A MOTHER OF AN INVENTION -- Astounding, funny, wise and triumphant. Rock 'N' Roll renews your awareness that history is what happens while we live our day-to-day lives. I left the theater feeling elated. I LOVED IT."
“Complex, mournful and moving — inarguably one of this remarkable writer's most profound and personal works. Brian Cox is SUPERB, and Sinead Cusack is EXQUISITE. Directed with verve, flash and intellect by Trevor Nunn, "Rock 'N' Roll" is the most brilliant kind of encapsulation of the link between real rock and pop materialism.”
“Brian Cox, Rufus Sewell and Sinead Cusack are as terrific as the classic rock tunes used to punctuate this triple-album of a theatrical experience.”
“POWERFUL! This wonderfully acted and staged play is A TREAT! Trevor Nunn's first-rate production offers tremendous food for thought. The lead actors are outstanding. Rufus Sewell is perfection!”
“THIS SHOW MAY CHANGE YOUR LIFE."
"A RARE THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE. It sends you out of the theater with its provocative ideas fizzing in your brain and the Rolling Stones' "You Got Me Rockin' " nipping at your heels."