by Conor McPherson, songs by Bob Dylan
seen at the Old Vic on 20 August 2025
This is a revival of the Old Vic's 2017 production with a new cast, providing a welcome opportunity to see the piece again.
See my review from 6 September 2017 for details of the production.
What I noticed particularly on this viewing was how melancholy the narrative arc was. Unusually for a musical, no applause was offered by the utterly engaged audience for any of the songs, allowing for a completely unbroken span of attention throughout the performance, and preserving the atmosphere of increasing desperation without distraction. This was by no means because the audience was dissatisfied, as the enthusiastic applause at the end demonstrated, but somehow a sense prevailed that interim applause would break the spell.
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