The Vortex Reviews
(Stage Play - The Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester - 2007) The Vortex, written by Noel Coward, was set on a dazzling ‘in the round’ stage at the REX. People at the 1924 premiere were scandalised by the play, which took lethal aim at the decadent cocktail-and-laughter society of London in the hedonistic 1920s. Twenty-four-year-old Nicky Lancaster, a confused 24-year-old dabbling in drugs (played by Will), returns from France to make revelations and discoveries at home....
Directed by Jo Combes, it also starred Diana Hardcastle, Laura Rees, Drew Carter-Cain, David Fielder, and Sam Heughan
Directed by Jo Combes, it also starred Diana Hardcastle, Laura Rees, Drew Carter-Cain, David Fielder, and Sam Heughan
Noel Coward Society - Source
For Will Young it has clearly been an intense, demanding but ultimately rewarding experience that bodes well for future theatre opportunities....he was convincing and at times compelling as the flawed hero well matched to the masterly skills of the experienced actress Diana Hardcastle. This was a memorable performance.
For Will Young it has clearly been an intense, demanding but ultimately rewarding experience that bodes well for future theatre opportunities....he was convincing and at times compelling as the flawed hero well matched to the masterly skills of the experienced actress Diana Hardcastle. This was a memorable performance.
Evening Standard - Source
It has taken more than 80 years and the performance of Will Young, the gay pop idol who has never acted on stage before, to bring out the full truth about Nicky Lancaster.
It has taken more than 80 years and the performance of Will Young, the gay pop idol who has never acted on stage before, to bring out the full truth about Nicky Lancaster.
The Independent - Find Source
In many ways Young is perfect in the part of Nicky Lancaster. the spoilt, heroin-shooting boy, emotionally adrift from his resigned father and flighty mother, and weary of the nebulous life he`s drowning in. Diana Hardcastle gives a compelling performance as his calculating, socialite mother, Florence - her selfish vanity and weakness for extra marital affairs with younger men blinding her to her sons vulnerability. Their final, wretched encounter, as they teeter on the brink of descending into a vortex of beastliness is searing in its intensity. As they tear at each other`s failures, you feel mother and son deserve each other.
In many ways Young is perfect in the part of Nicky Lancaster. the spoilt, heroin-shooting boy, emotionally adrift from his resigned father and flighty mother, and weary of the nebulous life he`s drowning in. Diana Hardcastle gives a compelling performance as his calculating, socialite mother, Florence - her selfish vanity and weakness for extra marital affairs with younger men blinding her to her sons vulnerability. Their final, wretched encounter, as they teeter on the brink of descending into a vortex of beastliness is searing in its intensity. As they tear at each other`s failures, you feel mother and son deserve each other.
The Compulsive Reader - Source
Nicky Lancaster is played by former Pop Idol winner Will Young, and he performs ably in his debut stage role; he is, of course, no stranger to live performance. He follows on from Noel Coward, who took the role in the original production, and Dirk Bogarde, who had also played Nicky in the past....The Vortex is an infuriating, interesting and ultimately a rewarding play. It is the play of a young man – Noel Coward was in his twenties when he wrote it - but it set the template for much of the mature work: his characters are camp and carnivorous by turns, and it is impossible to extricate these strands from each other. The Royal Exchange’s production splendidly evokes the twenties in its settings and costumes, and use of music, and is a welcome revival of an extraordinary twentieth-century play.
Nicky Lancaster is played by former Pop Idol winner Will Young, and he performs ably in his debut stage role; he is, of course, no stranger to live performance. He follows on from Noel Coward, who took the role in the original production, and Dirk Bogarde, who had also played Nicky in the past....The Vortex is an infuriating, interesting and ultimately a rewarding play. It is the play of a young man – Noel Coward was in his twenties when he wrote it - but it set the template for much of the mature work: his characters are camp and carnivorous by turns, and it is impossible to extricate these strands from each other. The Royal Exchange’s production splendidly evokes the twenties in its settings and costumes, and use of music, and is a welcome revival of an extraordinary twentieth-century play.
Whatsonstage - Source
Overall, director Jo Combes’ delicious production oozes quality from every pore. And, from the emptiness of the party scenes to the rage of the vitriolic emotional confrontations, we discover that, even if this group isn’t the most likeable bunch, there’s something deeply touching about them.
Including the former Pop Idol winner. Yes, Will Young fans can rejoice: he acquits himself admirably, aided and abetted by more seasoned, and undeniably brilliant, performers. You’ll be drawn into this Vortex too, and not simply for its celebrity casting.
Overall, director Jo Combes’ delicious production oozes quality from every pore. And, from the emptiness of the party scenes to the rage of the vitriolic emotional confrontations, we discover that, even if this group isn’t the most likeable bunch, there’s something deeply touching about them.
Including the former Pop Idol winner. Yes, Will Young fans can rejoice: he acquits himself admirably, aided and abetted by more seasoned, and undeniably brilliant, performers. You’ll be drawn into this Vortex too, and not simply for its celebrity casting.