Mike Bartlett’s third concurrent London opening is the silly, superficial and entertaining Scandaltown at the Lyric Hammersmith
“The world is a terrible place, full of evil people like Andrew Neil”
Does theatre always have to be so deep and meaningful? Can we just sometimes get a bit of beautifully designed frivolity that we need to chew over on the way home? That most prolific of writers right now Mike Bartlett might seem to think so as Scandaltown – his third show to open in London in recent weeks – suggests, embracing the silliness.
Toying with form once again as he likes to do, this show sees him transplant the world of Restoration comedy into the 21st century. And he lines up a series of targets – societal hypocrisy whether in the media or politics, generational gaps in attitude and empathy, obsession with media in all forms – which he hits with a gently satirical bent in Rachel O’Riordan’s entertaining production. Continue reading “Review: Scandaltown, Lyric Hammersmith”