Lloyd Evans Lloyd Evans

Faultless visuals – shame about the play: the National’s Coriolanus reviewed

Plus: a dispiriting snapshot of London’s underworld that feels thoroughly authentic

David Oyelowo, who plays the prattling duffer Coriolanus, has wonderful diction, a powerful stage presence and a proper sense of gravitas. Credit: Misan Harriman 
issue 05 October 2024
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  • Coriolanus

    Olivier Theatre, until 9 November

  • Ostan

    Park90, until 12 October

Weird play, Coriolanus. It’s like a playground fight that spills out into the street and has to be resolved by someone’s mum. The hero is a Roman general whose enemies conspire to banish him so he takes revenge by joining forces with a foreign power and laying siege to Rome.

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