Critique of the play See how they run by Philip King - Movie Review Example

Critique of the play "See how they run" “See how they run” is a three act ic comedy by Philip King. It has been revived many times since its first creation in1942. I liked the play very much but it could have been even better. It has all the elements of an English farce ranging from a vicar, a bishop, spinster, a maid and also a spy. It does complete justice to a farce as it includes exaggerated characters, situations which are highly improbable, mistaken edentities, confusion leading to chaos and lots of slapstick comedy.

The plot is very impressive when it is taken into account that it is a farce. The set of chain reactions triggered lead from one funny situation to another. It keeps the audience engaged and tickles the funny bone throughout. There is complete disorder and mayhem but the highlight is that continuity is not lost at any point of time and at the end order is brought back into the plot. The play is not all about slapstick but also has great dialogues incorporated into it. Without the backing of the dialogues, slapstick alone could not have made an impact.

And more importantly the characters in the play are all well created. Each character is given importance and each character has it share in being stupid at one time and witty in another. This combination is what differentiates the play from being mediocre to a classic comedy. The actors have done a good job but it could have been even better. The actors could have been more innovative and induced specific character traits. The need here was to have crisp and quick dialogues. Even though the dialogues are good, setting up of the dialogues was little off.

At some places in the play it the punch line becomes elongated. The punch line has to be quick in order to make a better impact. Actors should have made intelligent and intentional choices to differentiate their characters. Another important aspect that can be improved is the stage setup and the use of it by the artists. As the play includes outrageous situations, intelligent use of the stage is vital. At some places, it feels like the actors are moving around just to fill out the space on the stage.

This takes out the authenticity out of the play. “See how they run” is a fantastic and very funny play. But the overall success of a play not just depends on the script but also on the various other elements. Even though there were some places that can be improved, I completely enjoyed the play. It makes you laugh your heart out.