The reviews are in for Electra/Persona, the world premiere in which Benedict Andrews welds Sophocles's Electra to Ingmar Bergman's 1966 film Persona, and has Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss toss a coin in front of the audience each night to settle who plays whom. It is the boldest structural gamble at the National this year, and the critics have answered it with unusual consistency: unqualified admiration for the two performances, and a widely shared doubt about whether the halves ever become one play. The Electra section is repeatedly named the stronger, and it is after the switch into Persona that the enthusiasm thins.
The verdict: ten rated notices so far - one five-star, two four-star and seven three-star, averaging 3.4 out of 5, with The Times and The Telegraph behind paywalls. The spread is unusually easy to read. Not a single critic has a reservation about Cate Blanchett or Nina Hoss; the stars are decided almost entirely by whether the reviewer thinks the Sophocles half and the Bergman half become one play.
What are critics saying about Electra/Persona?
BroadwayWorld
Reviewer: Clementine Scott
"But the production's real strength is in the elegant parallels it draws, to form a new whole that enriches and enhances the work of both Sophocles and Bergman."
Time Out
"Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss are bloody amazing"
Reviewer: Andrzej Lukowski
"And they are really bloody good, and watching them journey to the deepest recesses of the characters' blurred souls is all you should want from the stage, really."
London Box Office
Reviewer: Stuart King
"Ultimately then, a stylish piece which is well-acted, cleverly crafted and slickly presented."
The Guardian
"Blanchett and Hoss face off in lopsided Sophocles/Bergman double bill"
Reviewer: Arifa Akbar
"As a double bill, of sorts, the first is the showcase, not only of its two central performers but the power of performance itself."
The Standard
"Strong performances can't save this misstep"
Reviewer: Nick Curtis
"At each performance Blanchett and Hoss choose which of the paired roles they will play with the toss of a coin. Beyond this tension-ratcheting gimmick, it’s hard to see what connects the two stories. Both are loosely about a woman compelled and repelled by her mirror image. By this logic, you could pair either with a stage version of Ab Fab, but that wouldn’t have quite the same aura of intellectual clout."
The Independent
"Cate Blanchett brings star power to chilly, cerebral show"
Reviewer: Alice Saville
"Andrews has a clear reason to combine this pair’s story with that of Clytemnestra and Electra, whose ancient pain triggered Vogler’s breakdown. Still, these women are very different creatures, powered by a logic of vengeance and justice that doesn’t always speak to Bergman’s world. Watching this hybrid play is often a laborious exercise, like trying to connect pieces from two different jigsaw puzzles that don’t quite fit."
WhatsOnStage
Reviewer: Sarah Crompton
"Watching these two great actresses strut their stuff is never less than dazzling. It's an odd night of theatre, but their presence makes it a thrilling one."
LondonTheatre.co.uk
"Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss are at the top of their game"
Reviewer: Anya Ryan
"Unquestionably the strongest, more inventive section of the evening, its power dissipates once we move onto Persona after around 50 minutes."
The Upcoming
Reviewer: James Humphrey
"However, it’s still an intellectual wrestle as to why Electra and Persona have been brought together. Andrews seems to be probing at the emotional untangling in the female confrontation at each story’s heart. This reveals how rawness breaks to the surface after being buried by societal pressure, tragic loss, or dissatisfaction and how the two lead women struggle to cope with it."
Production photographs by Monika Rittershaus.
Also reviewed by: The Stage (Holly O’Mahony, three stars), The Times and The Telegraph, whose reviews sit behind paywalls.
The Independent, The Standard and The Upcoming have filed since this roundup first went up, and their notices are included above. For more of what the critics have been saying this season, see our other London theatre review roundups.
Electra/Persona runs at the Lyttelton Theatre, National Theatre, until Saturday 10 October 2026.
