Moment-worthy, clunky, morally problematic? Critics Reaction to The Hunger Games: On Stage | stage

The Super Bowl visuals are all there from the beginning: a wardrobe of garish glory (1960s punk, with touches of art comédie, Versailles and space chic, designed by Muy Tran), a fast-changing set designed by Miriam Poyther and exuberant choreography by Charlotte Broome. The first half, which prepared us for the match, lacked tension. “We’re just hours away from becoming mortal enemies,” Katniss says. But you don’t feel afraid.

Arifa Akbar, The Guardian

Mia Carragher, the daughter of former footballer Jamie, has an energetic central presence as Katniss Everdeen, a warrior who battles her rivals in a bloody competition that is the ratings equivalent of Strictly Come Dancing in Panem, a bleak nation ruled by a moody elite. But the fact that it’s required to tell a large portion of the story while running here and there is a clear flaw.

Clive Davis, The Times

Playwright Conor McPherson and director Matthew Dunster set this dystopian tale in a bland, meticulously conjured version of Depression-era America, where District 12 residents eke out a living amid coal mining disasters and food shortages. A chorus of townsfolk sway like sun-bleached clothes on a clothesline, helpless and adrift, in choreographer Charlotte Broome’s evocative action sequences.

Alice Saville, The Independent

In the chrome-and-glass dystopia of Canary Wharf in east London, most of the money appears to have been spent on creating a high-tech runway. Eight rows of rotating seats – some of which move during the performance – open out onto the amphitheater, or close in to form killing fields… Martial arts, modern dance and hand-to-hand combat drive the contest, which is exacerbated by harsh lighting and bad white noise.

Patrick Marmion, Daily Mail

Set pieces rise from the bottom of the arena-like stage, and props are lowered from above. Ian Dickinson’s sound design sends the flapping of birds’ wings around the hall, bringing us closer to the action; Kev McCurdy’s fighting direction orchestrates action-worthy duels; Chris Fisher’s illusions send arrows flying into the center of their targets.

Holly O’Mahony, theatre

Dunster and McPherson’s unexciting production fails to reimagine and revitalize the source material. Moreover, they do not criticize the disturbing topic. There simply isn’t enough of a sense that we, the audience, are complicit in what we see…and since the story is about kids killing each other in the name of television entertainment, the failure to properly characterize the glorified is almost a moral problem.

Claire Olfrey, The Telegraph

One aspect that cannot be faulted is the energy, stamina and athleticism of the performers, many of whom come from dance backgrounds. Carragher herself must run dozens of miles during each performance; Her indefatigability is commendable, though McPherson’s confusing, confusing script leaves her with plenty of exposition to go through.

Fiona Mountford, First Paper

I wasn’t convinced by the casting of the pre-recorded John Malkovich as the manipulative President Snow – it’s a bit disconcerting that a widely famous American actor appears on our screens every now and then, and the scenes in which Malkovich “talks” to a live performer feel a bit odd to watch.

Andrei Lukovsky, Time Out