The Bridge Project 2010: The Tempest / As You Like it

Financial Times“Phrases become unintelligible to various parts of the house...” As with the first year of Mendes’s transatlantically cast touring project, one half of the picture proves more thoroughly satisfying than the other.In As You Like It, many of the laughs seem dutiful...

this is london“There’s not enough heart and certainly not enough magic...” Musically the production is satisfying. Yet for all the moments of ethereal dreaminess it suffers from a lack of power. Until the final scenes, we have little sense of much being at stake. It’s a thoughtful staging...

The Independent“Hit-and-miss productions...” Handsomely designed and engagingly acted, they don't emerge as a joint revelation and fail to add up to more than the sum of their parts. The applause was warm and respectful but stopped short of the standing ovation customary at such events...

Whatsonstage.com“It doesn’t really catch fire...” As You Like It is by far the better, not least thanks to the excellent Juliet Rylance. The Tempest has an altogether darker hue. One of the strengths of Mendes' production is the way that some of the minor characters get a chance to shine...

The Telegraph“This production strikes me as inferior to Mendes’s best work...” The Tempest in particular was almost entirely scuppered by a vocally underpowered performance from the usually excellent Stephen Dillane. Almost everything about this Tempest is disappointing. Mercifully As You Like It proves stronger...

Guardian“No breathtaking discoveries...” Mendes's Bridge Project, lacks some of the flair of the initial season.The best thing about The Tempest is its visual coherence. The problem lies in Stephen Dillane's self-indulgent Prospero. With As You Like It, we are on much safer ground...

The Times“Not yet reviewed”

New Statesman“Not yet reviewed”

Time Out“Not yet reviewed”

The Stage“Not yet reviewed”