You can't beat good writing. Right from the first moments of The City by Martin Crimp at the Royal Court the words, the characters, the play all lived.
It helps when the actors are as good as this - especially Benedict Cumberbatch, who is fantastic - and, even though the narrative wasn't straightforward, the audience seemed to be enthralled. I know I was.
Sadly some of the critics seemed put off by not being able to work out what the play was 'about'. It's a common problem with certain drama critics - anything that strays from the obvious is deemed to be either poorly drawn or wilfully obscure.
Fortunately, audiences don't seem to have the same need to have things pinned down.
A play like The City defies simple explanation. But it's well written. And, therefore, alive.
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