The reviews are in for End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland at the Barbican Theatre. The first stage version of Haruki Murakami’s 1985 novel, directed and choreographed by Philippe Decouflé for HoriPro and led by Tatsuya Fujiwara, is making its European premiere in a four-night run. On the look of it, the critics agree. Every notice we could read praises the dancing, the unicorns, the design or Mayu Gonto’s live piano. The split comes over the story: some found the parallel worlds came together beautifully after the interval, while others felt the plot drifts and the author’s deadpan humour goes missing.
The verdict: eleven reviews in so far. Nine carry a rating: one five-star notice, five four-star and three three-star, an average of 3.8 out of 5. Two more, British Theatre Guide and The Times, show no rating. The critics whose reviews we could read all admire the staging and design; where they part company is the storytelling.
What are critics saying about End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland?
The Guardian
"Murakami’s marvel brilliantly brought to life"
Reviewer: Arifa Akbar
The top score of the night. Arifa Akbar reckons the production turns a potentially chaotic double narrative into one sustained piece of stagecraft, and she has nothing but praise for the movement.
"Decouflé’s choreography is unsurpassable in its elastic grace and athleticism without seeming circus-like."
She concedes that newcomers to Murakami may feel lost before the interval. After it, she argues, the confusion reveals itself as deliberate, and the themes of loneliness and loss come through strongly.
The Arts Desk
"Highly enjoyable piece of theatrical craftsmanship"
Reviewer: Rachel Halliburton
Rachel Halliburton arrived a sceptic. She left converted, calling the staging an exquisite dramatisation, with special mention for Tatsuya Fujiwara’s Watashi and the live piano.
"will be unlike anything else you watch this year, or maybe even this decade."
She admits purists may miss the author’s deadpan tone. For her, though, the show improves on the novel.
The Reviews Hub
"A visual delight"
Reviewer: John Cutler
John Cutler splits his verdict cleanly in two: the look and the dancing on one side, the plot on the other.
"Visually and choreographically, the production is an absolute triumph. Narratively, however, its split storylines make for an almighty tangle."
He finds the emotional payoff only arrives once the two strands converge, and singles out Miu Tomita’s Woman in Pink and the dance ensemble.
Everything Theatre
"A dazzling, immersive spectacle that’ll have you questioning your own dreams for the foreseeable future"
Reviewer: Estelle Warner
Estelle Warner describes a design so enveloping that she felt inside the show rather than watching it, and names pianist Mayu Gonto among its biggest assets.
"There’s brilliant acting, breathtaking choreography, beautiful live music and sumptuous stage and sound design."
Her one real complaint is the amount of talk. The exposition weighs down a long third act with several false endings.
All That Dazzles
"Magical choreography and stunning visuals bring Murakami’s complex worlds to life"
Reviewer: Phil McCullough
Phil McCullough credits Ako Takahashi’s adaptation with keeping the story accessible to people who have never read the book, even across nearly three hours in Japanese with surtitles.
"The production is so beautifully staged that it often takes your breath away"
He picks out the dance troupe as the evening’s standout, with the dying unicorns a particular highlight. He did lose the thread now and then.
Theatre and Tonic
Reviewer: Eleanor Bywater
For Eleanor Bywater the atmosphere is spot on from the first image.
"Every moment of End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland is imbued with a profound sense of wonder and solitude."
She feels the pace of the dialogue leaves the relationships too little room to grow, and misses the everyday detail of the novel. The quieter closing scenes are where she thinks the show finds its heart.
Time Out
"This ambitious adaptation of Murakami’s early magical realist classic is ravishing but misses the author’s deadpan tone"
Reviewer: Andrzej Lukowski
Andrzej Lukowski thinks Murakami is close to unadaptable, and that playing his oddities for laughs sells the author short. He still gives the team credit for staging the strangest parts and making the story easy to follow.
"it’s an entertaining and audacious endeavour – the book is better, but there’s room for both."
He finds it less moving than the book, with the final sections rushing to tie up loose ends.
BroadwayWorld
"Epic international production combines drama, dance and video, but leaves the story behind"
Reviewer: Gary Naylor
For Gary Naylor the real stars are the designers, set, lighting, sound and video alike. The storytelling is another matter.
"This adaptation (almost three hours long) drifts when it could punch and delights in its own existence"
He still calls it a marvel to look at and listen to, and says it ends on a genuine coup de théâtre.
British Theatre Guide
Reviewer: Rebecca Clifton
Rebecca Clifton, who gives no star rating, finds Philippe Decouflé’s direction and choreography mesmerising and the design effective. She regrets the cuts, which smooth away the novel’s grittier crime underworld.
"This play is not hard-boiled, but it is a wonderland."
She calls it a delicate, tender play that loses some of the book’s force.
Also reviewed by: The Stage (Tom Wicker, three stars, "Possesses the rhythm of poetry and scope of metaphor") and The Times (Kate Maltby, "Can Murakami’s postmodern novel work on stage?"), whose reviews sit behind paywalls.
For more of the week’s openings, see our review roundups for Don Black’s From the Heart at the Garrick, Rent at the Tom Stoppard Theatre and Into the Woods at the Noël Coward.
End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland plays at the Barbican Theatre until 11 October.
