Review Roundup: LAND OF THE FREE at Southwark Playhouse

Playing in the lead up to the most contentious American presidential election since the time of the Civil War, Land of The Free, will tell the full story for the first time in British theatre of the life of the actor John Wilkes Booth and how he came to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Booth's background is one of parental bullying, professional frustration, racism, populist politics and celebrity; a background intertwined with the very fabric of America, where anyone can rise to the greatest heights and where liberty must be defended at all costs. Combining live music and vibrant ensemble storytelling Simple8's tale of John Wilkes Booth and Abraham Lincoln captures the patchwork charm and peril of the United States, and spans the playhouses, parlours, swamps, taverns and battlefields of 19th Century America, examining a tumultuous present by visiting the past. 

The cast of seven is made up of Grammy nominee Brandon Bassir (Grapes of Wrath, National Theatre), co-founder of Immediate Theatre Clara Onyemere, Dan Wolff (Fiddler on the Roof, Regent's Park), founder member of Simple 8 Hannah Emanuel, Natalie Law (Leopoldstadt, Wyndham's), Sara Lessore (The Tempest, Globe), and Owen Oakeshott (Witness for the Prosecution, London County Hall). See what the critics are saying...

Josh Maughan, BroadwayWorld: Outside of Lincoln’s more reflective and confrontational scenes, Land of the Free becomes somewhat frustrating. If the intention is to draw parallels between history and the present, it often feels too heavy-handed, with moments that border on a lecture as the ensemble directly explains events to the audience. If the goal is to explore the psyche of those who fuel political unrest, it falls short, as the characters remain underdeveloped and one-dimensional. It feels like the show is trying to do too much at once. While there are some exceptionally clever devices throughout – Julius Caesar comparisons, the use of placards to contextualise – by the second act, they start to feel overused and lose their impact.

Ryan Gilbey , The Guardian: The seven-strong company share multiple roles except for the magnetic Brandon Bassir, who devotes his energies fittingly to the bloody-minded Booth, a man who views the fatal bullet as “a strike against the elite”. Bassir introduces another layer of meta-textual commentary channelling Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle (who influenced Reagan’s would-be killer) whenever Booth slips into smarmy wooing mode. Meanwhile, Clara Onyemere would make a riveting Lincoln even without the irony of a Black female actor playing the role in a year which could give the US its first Black female president.

Holly O'Mahony , The Stage: John Wilkes Booth, the roguish actor who shot dead US President Abraham Lincoln at a theatre in 1865, is the subject of Simple8’s latest play. Thorough research from writers Sebastian Armesto and Dudley Hinton colours in the life of the Confederate sympathiser, whose persona is often reduced to the firing of his gun. But this two-hour production, directed by Armesto, is sometimes guilty of oversaturating the story, embellishing Booth’s life with more details than are necessary. And though there is a playfulness and resourcefulness to the company’s storytelling, its chronology makes it hard to follow.

Julia Rank, London Theatre: After Booth meets his end, the narrative continues confusingly. The story has all the ingredients to be a gripping and resonant yarn but the telling needs a considerable amount of tightening in order to be compelling theatre.

Average Rating: 57.5%