Pirandello's Henry IV Reviews

Chicago Tribune- Recommended

"...Though Montgomery dominates the show in moments both histrionic and quiet (a meditation on physical love, in which he describes lovers' discarded clothes by the bed "watching over us like ghosts," hits home with mournful sincerity), there are fine supporting turns from Egleston's brittle but still-vulnerable Matilda, Simon's in-over-his-head psychiatrist, and from Houton's cynical Belcredi. Sandys' direction brings the twists - both subtle and sudden - into focus with admirable clarity. "Pirandello's Henry IV" may not be everyone's cup of tea, but Remy Bumppo's production delivers a mostly rewarding heady brew."

Chicago Sun Times- Somewhat Recommended

"...The play, directed by Nick Sandys, unfolds at the moment a doctor is finally brought in to see if he can affect a cure. And before it’s all over the questions are these: Who is truly mad, and who is sane? Have “Henry’s” enablers lost their sanity (and even their lives) as a result of two decades of play-acting? Are we all just play-acting or way through life? And finally, did this aristocrat take a perverse pleasure in his madness, whether real or perceived? As it happens, a whole lot of cuckoos are flying over the nest here."

Chicago Reader- Somewhat Recommended

"...The script is chock-full of intellectual and dramatic twists, but Nick Sandys's staging for Remy Bumppo Theatre looks too stiff to handle them at first. You've got to wait awhile, until Mark L. Montgomery enters as the boggled blue blood, for any real excitement to kick in. Alternately woolly and cunning, arrogant, amused, tortured, and pissed, Montgomery's Henry saves an otherwise unsatisfying show."

Edge- Highly Recommended

"...Remy Bumppo's tag line, "think theatre," could not be more appropriate to the play the company has chosen to open its twentieth anniversary season. "Pirandello's Henry IV," brilliantly envisioned by Tom Stoppard is hilarious, intellectually exhausting and moving. Remy Bumppo's production, deftly directed by Nick Sandys, is an intimate, demanding, exhilarating rendition of it."

Stage and Cinema- Recommended

"...Reveling in its clashing levels of reality, Sandys’ ensemble make merry mischief out of Pirandello’s fascinating disconnect. They turn a philosophical charade into a searing psychodrama. In mid-October it’s sinisterly appropriate for all the coming pretensions of Halloween."

ChicagoCritic- Recommended

"...This complex mysterious work is completely fueled by Montgomery's brilliantly ambiguous performance that if you focus on whether he exhibits sane traits or is he faking sanity or faking insanity. In Montgomery's performance, we never know for sure. Therein lies the genius of Montgomery's performance, to Pirandello's writhing and to Nick Sandys' direction. We never know for sure. Henry IV is one of those confounding plays that pays of if you stay with it. Seeing Montgomery's award caliber performance is enough to make you visit to the Greenhouse worthwhile."

Chicago Theatre Review- Recommended

"...This is a strangely complicated play that demands the full attention of its audience, lest they become lost and fail to understand what’s real and what’s fantasy. Madness and sanity go hand-in-hand in Pirandello’s highly acclaimed comic drama, but it’s up to each theatergoer to sift through what he’s just seen and heard to determine where on the spectrum each belongs. Amidst the drama there are plenty of chuckles; but in the end, it’s “Henry” who ultimately has the last laugh."

Chicagoland Theater Reviews- Recommended

"...Props to artistic director Nick Sandys for rescuing Pirandello from the neglect of the last couple of generations. I can understand why he selected the compressed Stoppard version of "Henry IV" but I think the full Pirandello script would make the narrative and philosophizing more accessible. On the other hand, three hours in the presence of this play might have been too much for some attendees. Pirandello's most famous play, "Six Characters in Search of an Author," may have gone down easier. But that would have deprived us of Montgomery's towering performance, and that would be a shame."

The Fourth Walsh- Recommended

"...Under Nick Sandys’ skillful direction, the loss of sanity, love and years gets a thought-provoking contemplation. Sandys impressively opens the door to this asylum and forces us to watch someone ‘losing it.’ He challenges us to question after twenty years, who is responsible for the loss of time? PIRANDELLO’S HENRY IV is crazy. Or is it profound?"

Third Coast Review- Recommended

"...Nick Sandys' direction makes the most of the witty dialogue written by the always engaging Stoppard. The play runs 95 minutes in two acts and two eras, 900 years apart, and you will never be sure which one you are in. The enigma of Henry/nobleman's situation is either brilliant or maddening, depending on your tolerance for ambiguity. But there's no doubt about the quality of Montgomery's fiery performance. He is the star in an excellent cast."

NewCity Chicago- Highly Recommended

"...“Henry IV” has quite a bit going on and deserves to be seen multiple times to fully grasp its many levels of wit and dramatic substance. Director Nick Sandys has assembled a game cast that finely balances the royal formalities of nine hundred years prior with anachronisms of the present."