National Anthems

GenreDrama
Opened 8 Feb 2005
Written: By Dennis McIntyre
Directed: David Grindley
Cast: Kevin Spacey, Mary Stuart Masterson, Steven Weber
Synopsis: This production marks the British Premiere of Dennis McIntyre's play, first seen in the USA in 1988. Set in Detroit, Michigan and played in real time, the play takes us to the heart of 80's suburban America, and is at once a searing critique of suburban values and a hard-hitting parable about the American Dream.

What the critics had to say.....
NICHOLAS DE JONGH for THE EVENING STANDARD says, "Boring, almost interest-free event." PAUL TAYLOR for THE INDEPENDENT says, "The piece is more effective as a slick and sometimes wincingly contrived showcase for Spacey's acting talents than as the savage satire on late-Eighties materialism in America that it's cracked up to be." MICHAEL BILLINGTON for THE GUARDIAN says, "While Spacey is mesmerising to watch, McIntyre's play offers a glibly mechanical metaphor for American life." CHARLES SPENCER for THE DAILY TELEGRAPH says, "Dennis McIntyres's National Anthems proves another dud. It is sparkily acted, with Spacey in particular delivering a splashy star turn. But the play feels shallow, contrived and dated." BENEDICT NIGHTINGALE for THE TIMES says, "...the acting isn't the problem. But the choice of play is." ALASTAIR MACAULAY for THE FINANCIAL TIMES says, "The question mark over his [Kevin Spacey] judgment of plays gets larger." PETER HEPPLE for THE STAGE says, "McIntyre, whose career as a playwright hardly got off the ground, is here revealed as a potentially great observer of the underside of the United States, and British director David Grindley brings out the best in his all-American cast."

External links to full reviews from popular press
The Independent
The Guardian
The Stage
Daily Telegraph
The Times
Financial Times