Reviews
The Guardian
Michael Billington
"The play may be too showbizzy for some tastes but, behind its Manhattan waspishness, lurks a general truth: while Hollywood may be the global dream-factory, it still lies about its operatives' sex-lives."
21/01/2010
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The Daily Express
Mark Shenton
"This is a smart, sassy play and Jamie Lloyd’s sleek, slick production attacks it at full throttle, fielding a trio of terrific performances. Tamsin Greig dominates as the lethally sharp agent, detonating every line with killer punch and timing, while Rupert Friend (making his finely chiselled London stage debut) and Harry Lloyd attractively chart the tentative but doomed relationship that grows between them."
24/01/2010
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The Daily Telegraph
Charles Spencer
"...though the writing is sharply comic, it sometimes seems a touch glib - and perhaps just a little too American for British tastes. But after the interval the piece really hits its stride... Director Jamie Lloyd’s production has exactly the right light, cynical touch"
21/01/2010
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The Times
Benedict Nightingale
"There’s a point at which bright becomes brittle, and another at which smart becomes smartass, and there are moments when Douglas Carter Beane’s bright, smart and often enjoyable play crosses both boundaries… I suspect Beane and his director, Jamie Lloyd, would like us to see the play as a cutting yet affectionate portrait of four emotionally damaged loners in fame-obsessed America. That’s a stretch."
21/01/2010
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The Financial Times
Sarah Hemming
"The comedy has a serious point to make: that in 21st-century showbusiness it is still not a canny professional move to disclose that you are homosexual. But the high-octane style stands in the way of subtle or convincing emotional work, so you can’t feel much for the characters... Still, it offers a peppy, sardonic evening and Lloyd delivers it all with tremendous topspin."
21/01/2010
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The Evening Standard
Henry Hitchings
"There are moments when Carter Beane’s writing is piercingly funny, recalling the fat-free wit of Noel Coward. Diane gets the best of it. Yet there is a lack of resonance, warmth and depth. The play is smart, but clever-clever rather than intelligent. The vitality of Jamie Lloyd’s production radiates from Greig."
21/01/2010
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The Observer
Susannah Clapp
"Douglas Carter Beane's comedy is skinnily plotted but nattily written, and Jamie Lloyd's production swishes along short scenes and bright lights in a white box with a light-on-its-feet cast… Greig powers the evening, treating the audience as if it were a collection of recalcitrant clients."
24/01/2010
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The Independent
Paul Taylor
"The scenes that attempt emotional seriousness ring hollow and false. The thin characterisation of the young girl suggests that the author is much less interested in straight, sincere females than he is in dyke divas… But the production has a lot of diagrammatic pep and Tamsin Greig is phenomenal as corrupt Hollywood ambition incarnate."
21/01/2010
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The Independent on Sunday
Kate Bassett
"Showbiz machinations are an easy and familiar target, the mock-happy ending shallows out any profound sense of loss, and Gemma Arterton's Ellen strains to be as amusing as the others. Nevertheless, Lloyd and Friend are both droll and touchingly passionate, stripping down to their pants in a frenzy of desire. And Greig is absolutely storming, combining deadpan sardonic digs and flamboyant swish."
24/01/2010
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The Daily Mail
Quentin Letts
"But for glorious Tamsin Greig, the West End's latest American import would be a disaster… I suspect The Little Dog will do reasonably good business with young professionals but will be disliked intensely by many older theatregoers."
21/01/2010
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Time Out
Sam Marlowe
"A brittle satire with neither edge nor teeth... There are a few sharp one-liners as Greig, sleek, deadly and as consummate a comic performer as many a seasoned stand-up, slices through the theatrical fourth wall to commentate on the action. But like the most cynical La La Land product, this is heartless, soulless and pointless."
29/01/2010
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