I was slightly surprised to see this play being revived by the Lyric. I saw it when it was originally staged and went determined to find that the Daily Mail/Daily Telegraph furore was ill informed. In the event I came out half agreeing with what their reviewers had written. The violence and nihilism of the play needn't disqualify it from being a great piece of theatre but it was very difficult to determine exactly what all the sound and fury did in fact signify.
At that time the notoriety of the piece did guarantee that it got good audiences but in this day and age its shock value has been much diminished and the outrage from the more conservative reviewers has been hard to find. I'm concerned that stripped of the shock value people may find it an indifferent evening's entertainment but if you go along and disagree let me know. |