Review: The Spoils (West End)

Hey readers!
It's time for my review of The Spoils.
As some people may have seen on my Twitter account, last week I went on a 'Theatre Marathon', with five shows in three days (plus one movie). The first theatre show I saw was The Spoils which I had seen in New York over a year ago on my Birthday. I really loved the show and was ecstatic when I found out the show was transferring to London. The Spoils is in my top 5 plays of all time and it was such a privilege to be able to see it again. The show follows Ben; nobody likes Ben. Ben doesn’t even like Ben. He bullies everyone in his life, including his roommate Kalyan, an earnest Nepalese immigrant. When Ben discovers that his school crush is marrying a straight-laced banker, he sets out to destroy their relationship and win her back. The play is written by and stars Jesse Eisenberg, who is phenomenal in being both a playwright and an actor. The show is so cleverly written, Jesse is an utter genius. They were selling the script to the show, which they weren't in NY, so I was very eager to get it. It was very interesting to see the differences to the NY production. It was definitely more of a comedy, or perhaps it just seemed like that due to the audience responding differently to the NY audience. The London audiences were in stitches laughing, whereas in NY the play appeared a lot more serious. I honestly cannot tell if there were any changes to the script, they're might've been one or two changes, or it could've been the way the lines were delivered. I found it to be very interesting how the two different audiences reacted. The cast features Jesse Eisenberg as Ben, Kunal Nayyar as Kalyan, Alfie Allen as Ted, Katie Brayben as Sarah, Annapurna Sririam as Reshma. I had actually forgotten how good Kunal Nayyar was in this. I'm a huge fan of The Big Bang Theory (on which he stars as Raj) and on the show Kunal is really funny, but in The Spoils I saw a whole new side to his acting, a side I had not seen before. The play is really thought provoking; due to Jesse's writing I find the character Ben so fascinating. It's such a unique show, there is nothing like it. Jesse gives a fascinating portrayal as Ben and I cannot imagine another actor ever doing this role like he does. For those who are regular readers of my blog, you'll remember I nominated Jesse (and the play as well) for awards earlier in the year.

The featured star of The Spoils is, drum roll please... JESSE EISENBERG!

I had a look at my review of the show when I was in NY, back in May 2015, and I called Jesse one of the most intelligent people I know of. I still stand by that comment. To be able to come up with an idea like this play is genius. He's such a talented actor as well and I would love to see him do more theatre, especially in London. I haven't seen too many films of his, but I'm going to try and watch a few more as he brings so much depth to the character's he plays.

Now for my final verdict on The Spoils. I give The Spoils...

Sadly the show is only playing for a limited run until 13th August, which I feel is a real shame as I'd love for the show to continue beyond that. Oh well, I guess all good things must come to an end! Please note Kunal Nayyar will not be performing from 1st-13th August. 

Agree with my rating? Think it should've got a lower rating? If so comment below. 

Thanks for reading!

-The Reviewer