The Prisoner of Second Avenue

Financial Times“It ought to be a cracker. But rather bafflingly, it isn’t...” Rather than build up an agonisingly true comedy of circumstance, he goes for a brittle, wisecracking style that scratches at the surface of the material. The gags are pretty unfunny and projections of clumsy spoof news bulletins don’t help...

The Stage“Bleakly witty, dryly painful and surprisingly pertinent... ” The gangly Goldblum who seems to be channelling a version of Seinfeld’s Kramer in all his neurotic splendour and Ruehl, tough, brassy and sensitive are a terrific, believable duo, making something both authentic and infinitely touching...

this is london“Two hours of tedium...” Two Hollywood names in a drama about financially stressed times by a popular playwright: it should have worked a treat. Perpetually emotionally unengaged, we don’t want to laugh, or cry at what we’re witnessing, an insurmountable problem...

The Independent“Masterclass of comic acting fails to sustain the dramatic energy...” Bleak and mostly cheerless entertainment. Jeff Goldblum and Mercedes Ruehl, are in their prime and on blistering, sardonic form. Johnson's production does its best to keep the laughs coming in spite of everything...

Whatsonstage.com“It’s a good night out, not a great one...” The play, despite all the zingy one-liners, is an awkward, not always convincing, study in emotional meltdown. Johnson’s lively production can’t disguise the lumpy construction nor the fact that Goldblum is not fully at home in the role...

Guardian“Simon is himself the prisoner of Broadway feel-good convention...” For all the quality of Goldblum's performance and Terry Johnson's production, there is something too cosy about Simon's approach to his subject: he's like a man who peers into an abyss and then nervously backs off...

The Telegraph“This revival more than earns its keep...” Winning lead performances from Jeff Goldblum and Mercedes Ruehl. Expert direction from Terry Johnson. What the evening delivers in clever one-liners, it lacks in corresponding emotional thoroughness...

New Statesman“Not yet reviewed”

Time Out“Not yet reviewed”

The Times“Not yet reviewed”