Aradia Zavion wrote:

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Just got home from watching No Man's Land - loved it! I didn't know the play, so had no idea what to expect but I was sucked in right away (don't think I 'understood' it, but loved it anyway).

The Q&A afterwards was great too; most of the Q's were for Sirs Ian and Patrick, but someone did ask how Damien and Owen Teale came to be cast. Apparently the director, Sean Mathias, had worked with Owen on a play before, but Damien had to audition. The director recognised him as Flight from Ripper Street and said "Oh my God, I'm in love with you!" Damien looked a tiny bit embarrassed at that anecdote, but there was a good reaction from the audience!

It was super crowded at the stage door, but I did manage to get Damien to sign my programme! Was too late for Ian McKellan, didn't see Patrick Stewart and was too excited from having (very briefly) met Damien to pursue Owen Teale. It was too busy to ask any questions or take pictures at the stage door, but I did manage to sneak a few pictures of the Q&A, which I will post here later if that's okay?

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 Thanks Aradia!  I'm glad you enjoyed it....apparently Pinter himself didn't know what the play was about so 'understanding' it obviously isn't an issue! 

Sooo jealous you got to see a q&a - I'd really hoped they would do it on Tuesday when I was there......but I wouldn't have been able to go on Wednesday anyway.  If I'd had the opportunity/courage to ask a question I would totally have asked about Damien's casting - so thank you so much for sharing that little nugget

Pearl24 wrote:

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Now that it is going to be at my local Cineworld, I will go and see it there. I will go on my own as my husband doesn't like going to the cinema and no-one else as far as I know is a Damien fan. Much better to go by myself and enjoy it than to worry about a companion not liking it!

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 Amen. I go to things by myself a fair bit for this reason.

4 star review from theatresmart.com:

No Man's Land Review Wyndham's Theatre

"Special mention to Damien Molony and Owen Teale who play the servants - not easy characters to make sense of, but acting of an impeccable standard nonetheless." 

fifi wrote:

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Damien Molony Forum wrote:

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Lord Toby's verdict on Damien in No Man's Land: 

Least surprising news ever: @damienmolony is absolutely brilliant in No Man’s Land.

— Toby Whithouse (@hanniganspiteri) September 8, 2016

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 I don't know why this gives me such a thrill!!  I guess when I consider how (weirdly) proud I feel of Damien....Lord Toby must feel justifiably so much more so.....

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 I know, Lord Toby has spoken! His word is the word! and I feel proud too fifi, it's weird/ not weird to feel fan proud, we've watched, admired, supported our fave actor's work since BH too!

First reviews are in from No Man's Land national press night!

5 Stars – The Telegraph
“All four actors on stage (with Damien Molony and Owen Teale completing the quartet) display a deft sense of how to knock every utterance for six..”

5 Stars – The Londonist
“There is strong support from Owen Teale as the gruffly voiced, aggressive Briggs and Damien Molony as the provocatively camp Foster to complete a well-balanced ensemble of competing forces scrabbling around in no man’s land.”

4 Stars – The Guardian
“four excellent actors, under Mathias’s direction, exquisitely capture the fluctuations of mood of this remarkable play”

4 Stars – The Independent
“two thuggish minders whose insolent possessiveness and vaguely homoerotic complicity are excellently communicated by Owen Teale and Damian Molony.”

4 Stars – The Stage
“The two actors, [Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart] a year apart in age at 76 and 77 respectively, are extraordinary in the way they convey a sense of isolation and containment, and they find plenty of humour too in the imposing gloom of Mathias’ darkly calibrated production…Owen Teale and Damien Molony also bring the required sense of menace to the servants who police their interactions.”

4 Stars – Radio Times
“Everyone is good: Stewart is the picture of melancholy, while Damien Molony and Owen Teale are sinister as Hirst’s mysterious associates. But it’s McKellen who gives the masterclass. Every tic, every expression, every fumble with his hat or coat is carefully measured. You simply can’t take your eyes off him.”

4 Stars – Time Out
“Set and costume designer Stephen Brimson Lewis also extracts some definite LOLs with the ‘70s setting: Molony and Teale look ludicrous, and a the deadpan deployment of an anachronistic serving trolley gets a deserved round of giggles. ”
“It’s not a boundary-pushing or definitive production, but it’s a finely-balanced and entertaining one, suggestive of the absurdity and chaos of late life and the disintegration of memory.”

Another 4 star review from Broadway World UK and Damien's performance has a special mention!

"Damien Molony gives a superb Foster, oozing charisma, flirting just the right amount to confuse both Spooner and the audience."

Click below to read the whole review.

BWW Review: NO MAN'S LAND, Wyndham's Theatre, 20 September 2016

To all our visitors and guests:

Have you seen Damien in No Man's Land? We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Come and vote in the poll and add your comments!

Thanks to everyone who has voted in the Poll so far - over 85% have voted 5 stars!

NO MAN'S LAND - What did YOU think? [7 vote(s)]

5 stars - Incredible! Amazing play! I absolutely loved it!		85.7%
4 stars - Great! I really enjoyed it!		0.0%
3 stars - Good, I liked it		14.3%
2 stars - OK, but probably wouldn't see it again		0.0%
1 star - Loved seeing Damien on the stage, but the play was not for me		0.0%
0 stars - Terrible, I really didn't enjoy it		0.0%

I haven't had much time to think about the play itself, but the acting was superb as should be expected from such a stellar cast. The comedic timing was brilliant.  There was one point where they all stood frozen still while Ian's character rambled on and on, and I swear none of them moved a muscle for the entire spiel.  And Patrick Stewart's timing and eventual response was perfect.  

Damien was so perfectly in character as Foster.  Foster was menacing yet lovable, but in a completely different way than Hal. And his accent sounded pretty perfect to me (though admittedly as an American that's something Brits could better determine). 

The play itself was kind of like modern Shakespeare and difficult to determine what was really going on or what the actual point was.  It seemed to me like Hirst has dementia and the play is about reminiscing on the past and losing yourself in it.   The aloneness that comes with age because there aren't many people around that share your memories.  Both Spooner and Hirst seem like former shadows of themselves.   Whatever the play was actually about, I enjoyed seeing all of these actors on stage together.  It was an experience of a lifetime.  

Basically, I'm not the literary sort that picks every morsel from these things.  I enjoyed it.