The Priory, Royal Court Theatre | reviews, news & interviews
The Priory, Royal Court Theatre
The Priory, Royal Court Theatre
Seasonal satire on the stress of success
Thursday, 26 November 2009
Kiss 2009 goodbye: 'Suddenly you don’t feel like laughing any more'Photo: Johan Persson/Royal Court
If it’s not quite the time of year to start making New Year resolutions, then it’s not far off. Everywhere, you can read the signs: bright lights on the main shopping streets, merry cash registers ringing and the sound of yule logs being felled in empty forests. Plus chronic gift anxieties and a grim foreboding about the coming Election Year. In Michael Wynne’s new comedy, The Priory, which opened last night at the Royal Court, a New Year’s Eve party gives us a taste of what’s to come.
If it’s not quite the time of year to start making New Year resolutions, then it’s not far off. Everywhere, you can read the signs: bright lights on the main shopping streets, merry cash registers ringing and the sound of yule logs being felled in empty forests. Plus chronic gift anxieties and a grim foreboding about the coming Election Year. In Michael Wynne’s new comedy, The Priory, which opened last night at the Royal Court, a New Year’s Eve party gives us a taste of what’s to come.
Share this article
The future of Arts Journalism
You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!
We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d
And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more Theatre
A Knock on the Roof, Royal Court review - poignant account of living under terror
Gaza play is both surreally humorous and finally devastating
The Ferryman, Gaiety Theatre, Dublin review - Jez Butterworth's Northern Irish epic comes close to home
Variable ensemble yields some gripping scenes and monologues
Backstroke, Donmar Warehouse review - a complex journey through a mother-daughter relationship
Tamsin Greig and Celia Imrie shine in a multifaceted portrait of motherhood
Richard II, Bridge Theatre review - handsomely mounted, emotionally muted
Jonathan Bailey makes a petulant stage return in Shakespeare's most luxuriant play
Otherland, Almeida Theatre review - a vivid, beautifully written take on the trans experience
Bush's writing is as fresh as a sea breeze and as lyrical as birdsong
Much Ado About Nothing, Theatre Royal Drury Lane review - this shamelessly hedonistic production is a triumph
Diamond-sharp banter and an endorphin fizz make this one of the best parties in town
Hamlet, Royal Shakespeare Theatre - Luke Thallon triumphs as the state succumbs to storms
The iceberg cometh
East Is South, Hampstead Theatre review - bewildering and unconvincing
House of Cards writer tackles AI and religion, but without the necessary clarity
Unicorn, Garrick Theatre review - wordy and emotionless desire
New West End drama about spicing up marriage is oddly lacking in passion
More Life, Royal Court review - posthuman tragedy fails to come alive
A new sci-fi gothic horror about life after death is intriguing, but flawed
Three Sisters, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse review - Chekhov's anatomy lesson on the human condition
Russia - but also here, there and everywhere
Churchill in Moscow, Orange Tree Theatre review - thought-provoking language and power games
Howard Brenton’s new play about Winston and Stalin is both intelligent and fun
Add comment