Labour of Love - directed by Jeremy Herrin

I saw Labour of Love two weeks ago and had a very enjoyable evening. Martin Freeman and Tamsin Greig are both a joy to watch however Greig stole the show for me.

Freeman's dancing was a standout comic moment although Greig has the funny lines.

Although the political plot may drag slightly I felt that the shifts in time kept the pace moving along with the musical interludes featuring news clips through time.

Does anybody know all of the songs featured? They were all chosen well, in my opinion, and were fitting to the piece. I believe we had Seven Nation Army, Ghost Town and London Calling...?

On a side note I saw this on a day ticket which I managed to get at the box office after midday on a Thursday. The box office assistant was very helpful and although the front and second rows were sold out (where the day tickets normally are) she sold me a good, central seat towards the rear of the stalls. For £10 this was excellent.

As for Martin being indisposed I can only say that meeting him afterwards at the stage door, he has a strong attitude towards this material (especially considering his personal political views as a Labour supporter) and spoke for a long time to audience members about the play after the performance. I would then assume that he is likely off for something such as injury or a prior engagement? I'm also glad to report that my suspicion of him being a little stern was far off. He is friendly, chatty, smiley, down to earth and thankful to everyone for coming.

Finally, I would highly recommend this play as a great night out with a strong cast and some witty relief from the 9-5!

I saw it again last night (I love this production!) and it was amusing to see how MF's 'dancing' has changed post-leg injury! His dancing now doesn't involve his feet and is just lots of over the top arm movements! The audience would never know but he is either still suffering or being far more careful!

Also much amused by TG shouting 'Martin' instead of David during one of their arguments!

£10 tickets in the stalls/circle are available almost every weekday on the day if you check online a few times.

Enjoyable enough - the first half is rather mediocre fare, second half quite a bit stronger. That's largely because I would say if you follow politics, particularly any discourse surrounding the Labour party, there is hardly a single insight or perspective you won't have heard before. This House being set so far in the past meant Graham was able to please with quality research alone, he struggles to add much to recent and better remembered history. On the political front, the Freeman character was supposedly a cabinet minister and yet we get basically nothing on that, it's almost difficult to imagine that these characters exist outside of these scenes in this room.

The second half is more about the personal relationships, and the material there is decent, elevated to something more by exceptional performances from Freeman and Greig. Whether the play works overall depends on whether you buy the ending, not sure I did, but by that stage the audience was very much on side and went with it.

Some of the comedy is a bit tired, a couple of the punchlines had me cringing but the cast sold it. It's the kind of play that works for what it is right now at this moment with this cast and will have most people leaving happy having been entertained, and yet it is hard to imagine it ever being worthy of a revival.

It's interesting to watch the development of the brilliant James Graham. Both This House and Ink are big kaleidoscopic portraits of politics and the media where the protagonists are real people playing roles in real stories. As strong and as perfectly realized as those characters are they are basically functionaries of their respective plots. Labour of Love is something different.

In Labour of Love the politics is background, the protagonists themselves provide the plot. It's a romance, a love story, beautifully worked out and highly original. Graham is a master of structure and the structure of this one is, for me, quite exquisite. Beginning at the end - shades of Merrily We Roll Along - and working backward through a series of vignettes in the first act. Then reversing the process in the second act and, as we go forward again, revealing what we had not been allowed to see first time around. It works wonderfully. Many people on this board have noted that the second act plays better than the first - but that is the intention. It could not be otherwise. The second act is a continual explosion of new information about characters we have already come to know and care about. By the time the inevitable conclusion rolls around we're primed and ready.

Martin Freeman and Tamsin Greig could not be more ideal in these roles. They are so fabulously in sync in every moment of every situation, so much a team, and yet they are radically different people, never losing their quirky individuality. This is not just great acting, it's great writing and this is something we have not seen from Graham before - not to this degree. It's why I think this play is a large leap forward for him.

I'd also like mention the forgotten lady in this production, Rachael Stirling. Her character is not likeable and Ms Stirling plays her to the hilt, not shying away from the woman's dark side. But it's notable that when the two handed scenes become three handers, with her included, there is no diffusion of energy, no let up in intensity or credibility. She's giving an excellent performance.

Jeremy Herrin's production is smooth and seamless. To his credit he has not tried to stamp his own personality on it. He knows he has a terrific play to work with and simply lets it do its thing. So bravo to all concerned but especially to James Graham. His picture in the programme makes him look like he's just graduated from uni. I should resent him but I can't. He's a great writer and he's only going to get better.

Saw this yesterday afternoon and I stick my neck out and say this wasn't as good as Ink or This House, but was mildly enjoyable with some great one liners. However I got a feeling that James Graham had to backtrack and this play was meant to be critical of new old new labour or Jeremy Corbyn if you will and James wrote this with a massive Theresa May Conservative landslide in mind, but this didn't happen, so I feel there had to be minor surgery to the script.

Loved the way how the office got updated with the latest poster and campaign slogan.

I don't think so, the Nottinghamshire setting became perfect for contrasting the failure of Corbynite labour there as opposed to elsewhere and I doubt he could have made wholesale changes to the setting at such a late stage to accommodate that. 

Thanks!

I'm sure this has been discussed before so apologies, but how does one go about getting a decent enough, affordable ticket for this? I may have a free evening in London towards the end of the month but tickets seem to be very limited now and priced at either £70 or £100 on the Delfont Mackintosh website. Are the £10 seats day queue tickets? Thanks.

Thanks xanderl.

Standing tickets in the upper circle for £10 have been appearing online a few days before the performance, if you don't mind standing for that long. Keep an eye on the website though, I got back row dress circle seats for £10 about five days in advance.

I saw this last week and i love it. Funny , intelligent. the chemistry between the main actors is wonderful
i laughed so hard on it. if i can i would see again. and Tamsin Greig is a star. Gosh I have no words.
just wonderful she was


Row B in Stalls for £10 is bargin of year