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New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
Fiona Mountford's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Enda Walsh.
Cast: Druid Theatre Company
Description: Enda Walsh's drama about three sisters who are obsessed with the past.
Trains: Tube: Hammersmith 
Phone: 0208237 1111
Website: www.riversidestudios.co.uk
Something of a catch: Mikel Murfi as nervy fishmonger Patsy, the unlikely object of the sisters’ desire in The New Electric Ballroom
When this four-hander played in Edinburgh last year, my negative reaction saw me swimming upstream against an onrushing tide of plaudits.
Although Enda Walsh’s writing seems a little more humane this time around, I still found myself longing for the last waltz to be called and the ballroom closed up once more.
Walsh’s writing is punishingly stylised, which means that sisters Breda, Clara and Ada, as well as visiting nervy fishmonger Patsy, talk at, rather than to, each other over the institution-coloured set.
Endless lengthy monologues leave us gagging for a bit of old-fashioned repartee, or at least for someone to give someone else a straight answer as regards the making of a cup of tea.
That the drama’s surreal-lite form hangs so heavy is a pity, as Walsh’s central image is an arresting and poignant one.
Decades ago, in this backwater Irish village, the eponymous pleasure palace, complete with the “Roller Royle” and his show band, seemed to herald for older sisters Breda and Clara the start of a wonderful new life full of light, love and opportunity.
But the flame of hope was instantly snuffed out, leaving these agoraphobic women with nothing to do but dress in the glad rags of a bygone time and relive missed chances.
The cast work hard under Walsh’s own studiedly self-conscious direction, maximising the impact of the repeated turns of phrase.
Catherine Walsh’s Ada startles us each time with “turning fish into numbers”, the description of her accounting job at the local fish-canning factory.
Mikel Murfi as Patsy has the biggest character arc to trace, and for a brief moment it seems that, at the longest of lasts, a day might finally be seized.
Until 29 March (020 8237 1111, www.riversidestudios.co.uk).
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
I wish I had read your review BEFORE subjecting myself to what felt like the longest 75 minutes of a weekend in Dublin.
From the opening monologue, spoken facing a wall through to the predictable miserable ending, I found this neither gripping nor particularly entertaining.
Has Ada actually been the daughter of Brenda or Clara and therefore possibly the half sister of Patsy, there might have been some justification in Ada and Patsy not getting together, rather than the notion that Patsy just didn't feel like it on the night.
It all felt rather pretentious.
- Dave, Manchester, England
I totally agree with you Charlie M. but You forgot to mention the tragedy and pathos of Synge. This show is an absolute stunner! It also looks sensational and the acting is as good as you're likely to see anywhere.
- Joesmith, EDINBURGH / LONDON
I'm afraid you are so, so wrong on this one Fiona, its a dazzling piece of theatre. Hewn from the Irish tradition of Beckett, and Flann O'Brien, but with the wit and timing of Stoppard and all delivered by four of the best ensemble performers you will get anywhere. I cannot recommend it highly enough
- Charlie M, London
