Lloyd Evans Lloyd Evans

Surprising flop from a top-class team: To Have and To Hold, at Hampstead Theatre, reviewed

To Have and To Hold feels like an instalment of Mission: Impossible in comparison with Lynn Nottage Clyde’s at the Donmar

Christopher Fulford and Alun Armstrong in To Have and To Hold at Hampstead Theatre. Image: Marc Brenner

To Have And To Hold boasts a starry cast and a top-class creative team. Richard Bean’s script is a meditation on ageing, directed by Richard Wilson and Terry Johnson, and it opens with a sight-gag about a wonky stairlift descending into a suburban lounge in Yorkshire. The stairlift is occupied by Flo, a tea-drinking fusspot (charmingly played by Marion Bailey), who looks after her crumbling husband, Jack.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in