Review: The Dresser

Hey readers!
It's time for my review of The Dresser.
Huge apology for the big delay in getting this review posted. As I mentioned in my Kinky Boots review, school has started again and I have been unbelievably busy. I am slowly managing to get back on schedule and will be writing up my reviews of Groundhog Day and No Man's Land during this week, before my mind gets too foggy!
It had been a very long two weeks for me, what with school starting and all, so during that weekend (two weeks ago) we decided it was time for a theatre break. I was rather tired, so chose to see something local, as opposed to heading to the West End. We had a look what was on at Richmond Theatre and The Dresser was playing, doing an 'out of town try-out' tour before heading to the West End. I had extremely mixed feelings about the show. On the one hand, the acting is phenomenal and the creative aspects of the show are great. On the other hand, it is far too long and drags on a LOT. I'll start with the good aspects of the play and then go onto what could be improved. The acting was really good, including both leads and the supporting cast. The two leads are Ken Stott as Sir and Reece Shearsmith as Norman, both are strong actors. Sir is a very old actor, nearing death, and struggling severely with heath problems. Ken Stott portrays this exceptionally well and I was very moved by his performance, he really shows the struggles Sir has. Reece Shearsmith is amazing, he was the saving grace of the show. The only parts of the show I thoroughly enjoyed was when Reece was onstage, he was a star throughout, especially at the end of act two. He portrays Norman so convincingly, the producers were very lucky to get him onboard. I thought the revolving set was extremely well designed and I liked the costume and lighting designs as well. Now what could've been improved... Some scenes in the play felt like an eternity, they just went on for far too long. The show in total is 2 hours and 45 minutes, which drastically needs to be shortened. There are far too many unnecessary subplots. If I were directing the play, I would've cut it down to an hour and 45 minutes. This is more than enough time to get the main elements of the show in. I also think the show could add more comedic elements in, as all jokes seemed to be well received by the audience. To be fair on the show, this was an 'out of town tryout' and I really hope they attempt to edit the show, as because of the shows great actors, it has good potential.

The featured star of The Dresser is, drum roll please... REECE SHEARSMITH!

Reece was just so perfect for the part, he was a joy to watch whenever he was onstage and completely stole the show. I can't praise his performance enough, as I stated, he was the saving grace!

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

I give this rating because it simply is just too long and needs to drastically shortened, but there are a lot of redeeming qualities that do, at the end of the day, make the show enjoyable.

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

Thanks for reading!

-The Reviewer