Review Roundup: REYKJAVIK at Hampstead Theatre

Richard Bean’s Reykjavík is now running at Hampstead Theatre through November 23. The production is directed by Emily Burns and stars John Hollingworth, Paul Hickey and more. 

February 1975. In freezing weather off the coast of Iceland, the sidewinder Graham Greene ices up, heels over, and sinks in seconds, taking fifteen of her crew with her. Such are the realities of the brutal world of trawler fishing. On impulse, despised trawler-owner Donald Claxton flies to Reykjavik to see the survivors, setting in train an evening of drinking, horseplay, romance and story-telling that will change all their lives forever. See what the critics are saying...

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Alexander Cohen, BroadwayWorld: Ensemble performances fine tune the comedy to perfection across the board. Director Emily Burns is a master of navigating power hierarchies, gorgeously winding up the suspense, teasing us with the promise of outright detonation and always faithful to Bean’s writing. Hampstead Theatre has had a rocky trajectory since Covid. Biding its time to produce a stone-cold hit, this might be it. 

Arifa Akbar, The Guardian: Is this a comedy about a tragedy? A ghost-led metaphor for the hollowing out of the British fishing industry as the Icelandic government excludes foreign trawlers from their fishing grounds? We return at the end to Claxton’s meeting with the widows and it is a haunting moment. This play seems like a powerful one, while the comic one contains its own pace and drama, but the two smother each other sutured together as they are.

Daz Gale, All That Dazzles: A play about fishermen may not sound like the most riveting of watches, but there is deception in Richard Bean’s writing which speaks of subjects stretching beyond one specific industry. With themes of capitalism and the responsibility the few have for the repercussions of the many, there is much to ponder in Reykjavik, with Bean’s rich writing on offer here a wonder to behold. A pleasant surprise of a show and one that will make you laugh as often as it makes you grit your teeth, Reykjavik proves to be a thrilling catch.

Nick Clark, London Evening Standard: Contemporary parallels about insecure employment and Britain’s relationship with its European neighbours are present but not overstressed. As with other Bean plays – One Man, Two Guvnors; The Heretic – I went in clueless and came out buzzing.

Danai, Theatre and Tonic: One of the production's remarkable achievements is its immersive design. Anna Reid’s set, combined with strong dialogue and a talented cast, transports audiences back in time, vividly evoking the era's weight and gritty folklore. Lovecraftian touches emerge as Claxton and the survivors recount ghostly tales and sea monsters, heightening the sense of a mythic industry in decline. With Iceland’s decision to extend its fishing boundaries marking the play’s close, the industry’s end looms, making the individual stories and losses feel hauntingly like ghosts themselves, fading into history yet leaving a lasting chill. 

Chris Abbott, West End Best Friend: For the most part, however, and with some superb sets from Anna Reid, Reykjavik is a fascinating window into a forgotten and long-lost lifestyle, superbly acted, in another impressive production from Hampstead Theatre.

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