Review Roundup: THE GOAT, OR WHO IS SYLVIA? at the Theatre Royal Haymarket

Damian Lewis and Sophie Okonedo return to the West End to star in the darkly comic masterpiece, Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? which opened at the Theatre Royal Haymarket on March 24.

Let's see what the critics had to say:

Marianka Swain, BroadwayWorld: Sophie Okonedo gets the best handle on the play's tone, her Stevie bitterly, caustically funny even as she descends into disbelief, heartbreak and furious vengeance (in one chilling moment, she simply gives an - appropriately - animalistic howl). Albee's Greek tragedy references are borne out by Martin undone by a fatal flaw, but more hauntingly by the devastation Stevie endures and in turn metes out.

Sarah Crompton, WhatsOnStage: I think it is wonderful, invigorating and thrilling. Its premise is absolutely contained in that cryptic title; this is a story of a prize winning Manhattan architect called Martin, a man for whom the word uxorious might have been invented, who has never looked at anyone other than his wife Stevie in 22 years of marriage. But then he falls in love with Sylvia, a goat, and his entire life comes crashing down around him. Almost literally, as Stevie, in fury, destroys the trappings of their home, while their gay son Billy watches in horror.

Michael Billington, The Guardian: Our initial response is one of shock: even, in some cases, incredulous laughter. But, far from writing a sensationalist play about bestiality, Albee is posing serious questions about the uncontrollable nature of human sexuality. It is significant that Albee once adapted Lolita for the stage. Nabokov's Humbert Humbert suffered a destructive obsession with a 12-year-old girl, but Albee pushes the boundaries even further. We may be inclined to look away, but there is a key moment when Ross, revolted by a story of sexual excitation, asks: "Is there anything you people don't get off on?" To which Martin replies, with steely calm: "Is there anything anyone doesn't get off on, whether we admit it or not?"

Henry Hitchings, Evening Standard: The play is ingeniously manipulative, and in Ian Rickson's handsome production it's a vivid portrait of a marriage under immense strain. When Martin and Stevie finally stare into the abyss, there's an awkward poignancy. Okonedo's interpretation of Stevie's anger is full-bodied, and Lewis expertly conveys the nitpicking earnestness of a man determined to make his wild infatuation seem reasonable.

Natasha Tripney, The Stage: Sophie Okonedo, as Stevie, arguably has the harder task. But her performance is rich, her emotional responses to the situation convincing; the sense of shock, anger, betrayal and pain palpable. It's as if she constantly has to remind herself that this is really happening, that her husband is diddling a barnyard animal, and it hurts afresh each time. So, she sets about breaking every fragile thing in their opulent apartment.

Dominic Cavendish, The Telegraph: How can that be, you ask, when it stars Damian Lewis, much respected and more bankable, thanks to his TV work, than Jonathan Pryce, who took the dazed, confused, smitten role back then? Yet this is now the third time Lewis has starred in a West End vehicle with a strong comic component (albeit playfully subtitled "Notes Towards a Definition of Tragedy", a goat supposedly being the prize sought by vying Greek poets of old). And it's high time someone - his agent? - told him stage-comedy isn't his strongest suit.