All Of Us - Dorfman Theatre/National

Just bagged a cheap £15 pit first row for this, hope it'll be good!

I caught the first preview and really enjoyed it. It’s very long (clocking in at over 3 hours) and could do with some tightening up here and there. I have a feeling some people will call this preachy, but I learnt an awful lot from it and it felt very necessary. A word of warning - some scenes are very traumatic (the lady next to me screamed at one point) which was unexpected.

Francesca Mills was the stand out in the cast for me - I thought she was fantastic.

The comments so far are encouraging and intriguing but I'd love to have rather more of an idea of what the play is about and as usual, the brief outline on the NT website is so hopelessly vague as to be useless. Could those who have seen it so far kindly provide a liitle more detail, please?

Thank you, zahidf. Now to look out for a matinee ticket.

Saw this tonight and loved it. It clocked in at just under three hours, but it felt like much less, as the lead character, Jess (played by the playwright) and her friends struggle to negotiate a Kafkaesque benefits system.

The first half has a similar naturalistic feel to the observational socially conscious work of Alexander Zeldin, that anybody could love, but (warning) the second half adopts a much more Marmite, overtly political, Ken Loach style of activism that will probably rub the very people it seeks to convert, for good or for ill, up the wrong way.

Some spoilers follow. . .

All credit to Francesca Martinez for writing the best part, with all the best lines, for another actor in another part, namely the other Francesca, Francesca Mills, who has always been a joy in every performance I've seen her in, particularly at the Globe. Her Poppy is a friend of the main character, Jess, but her vivacity and zest for life is infectious and joyous, and a massive boon to audience enjoyment of the piece, contrasting with the more reserved, measured approach to life of Jess, the main character.

Both Francescas need help to become their fully productive selves, to live their best lives, but the newly structured benefits system has "benefits scroungers" in its crosshairs, and is becoming Kafkaesque in its application. . .

In addition to Francesca Mills, who is a magnificent life force, absolutely hilarious with it, and the standout performer in the standout part, there is a universally strong ensemble assembled: with Martinez herself radiating empathy and decency, Crystal Condie balancing haplessness and outrage in equal measure, Michael Gould suitably oily as a Conservative politician, Brian Dick as his wounded son, Lucy Briars convincingly OCD, and an unforgettable turn by Kevin Hely as an outraged political activist.

I loved the first half of the play the best, simply sharing human experiences with the audience in an entertaining way, but I appreciated the more Marmite activist second half as well. After all, if nobody complains, nothing ever changes.

4 stars from me.

Bizarre & frustrating that there are so few matinees for this; only one weekday one that I can find and most unusually several of the September Saturdays have none either; wonder why? Certainly makes it very difficult to see, as there's only a single date I can do - and thats' IF I can get a Friday Rush ticket. Not that I want to be in London in August at all, let alone on Bank Holiday Saturday.

Really loved this! I didn't realise it was Francesca Martinez's birthday yesterday too and she gave a stellar performance, never leaving the stage throughout the show except for the interval. I was surprised by how funny this would be and echo everyone's thoughts on Francesca Mill's fiery Poppy who was clearly a highlight of the show. I don't want to spoil anything, there's not a linear plot per se but there are a string of different stories and problems that people face and it's told in a way which really inspires empathy. I was close to tears last night towards the ending and I found myself really touched and I hope to see it again before it closes. Do check it out guys, it's really wonderful

Sae this last week and agree that the first half is a lot more focused and effecting whilst the second half tries to do too much and feels a bit off the rails, but the anger cuts through and was still effective overall. Shame this doesn't seem to be selling (though most things aren't, currently) - about 65% full when I went.

This is me too. I am not keen on a long play in the evening- so as much as I'd like to see this, I'm on the fence 

I sat in front row , stage was below my knees

Yep also sat front row and was confused as to what was restricted about it.