The notices are in for Holy Fool, Rosalind Adler and Lea Sellers’ new play at the Park Theatre, which follows Dmitri Shostakovich from the denunciation of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk in 1936 through four decades of composing under a state that could make him a hero or an enemy on a word from Stalin. Directed by Kate Fahy, it has divided the critics more sharply than most openings this season: the performances of Benjamin O’Mahony and Jenna Augen are admired almost without dissent, and several reviewers found the music the strongest thing in the evening, but the writing has drawn everything from four stars to a flat dismissal. The recurring complaint is scope — that Adler and Sellers try to hold too much of a long life at once, and give a fictional friendship more room than the composing.
The verdict: ten reviews in so far — one four-star notice, four three-star and four two-star, with one outlet publishing no rating at all. Among the nine that score it, the average is 2.7 out of 5. The split is not about the cast: Benjamin O’Mahony and Jenna Augen are praised almost everywhere, and so is the Shostakovich itself. What divides the critics is the script — whether four decades of a life can be got into one evening, and whether the invented romance at its centre earns the time it takes.
What are critics saying about Holy Fool?
The Spy in the Stalls
“strong character acting and wry, comic moments to leaven the harsh story”
“Overall, the threat of the Socialist Realism era is rather underplayed. However, this is not the first time, and it won’t be the last, that despots have tried to use force to silence artists. Underground resistance and the human spirit is the story told here in an extremely well created and performed piece of work, with strong character acting and wry, comic moments to leaven the harsh story.”
North West End
Reviewer: Phil Meikle
“Holy Fool’s writers clearly have deep affection for their subject, and the play bursts with ambition and flair as it vividly conveys the fear and paranoia that shaped Shostakovich’s life. Its exploration of music as a form of defiance under Soviet rule is compelling; however, it struggles to communicate the emotional power of the music itself, instead focusing too heavily on the machinery of the state. For a story about one of the twentieth century’s greatest composers, this feels like a missed opportunity.”
Theatre and Tonic
Reviewer: Emily
“I’m ashamed to say I wasn’t hugely familiar with Dmitri Shostakovich, or his work, prior to seeing this production. I’m glad that I am now. Whilst some scenes are a little drawn out, this is an interesting look at one man’s struggle to continue making music, and stay alive, in turbulent times.”
West End Best Friend
Reviewer: Stephanie Osztreicher
“There is much to admire here: a strong ensemble and a story that places artistic freedom, morality and survival under uncomfortable scrutiny. It also takes a complicated history and gives it clarity through its choices. But there are moments where the production could be braver.”
Read Stephanie Osztreicher’s full review at West End Best Friend
WhatsOnStage
“While Dmitri Shostakovich’s life is ripe for storytelling, Holy Fool doesn’t quite find the line of inquiry. It includes both too much and, when it counts, nowhere near enough.”
Reviewer: Miriam Sallon
“The best part of the evening is, of course, the soundtrack. To have created such powerful pieces under such immense strain and fear is miraculous, and I’m grateful to have a few moments in a darkened room listening to surely some of the best composition of the century. Other than this, the evening is neither offensive nor intriguing, but largely forgettable, a shame given what it might have been.”
The Reviews Hub
Reviewer: Nilgün Yusuf
“In the effort to encapsulate so much of the tumultuous political and social context, what is ironically lost in this formal, traditional narrative is the central figure. The political context is foregrounded, and the artist’s creative process—the agony and sweat required to make this rousing work, often with a metaphorical gun to the head or knife to the shoulder blade—is lost. Fragments of symphonies can be heard, and they are a joy, but arrive fully formed like audio TV dinners, all cooked and ready to go.”
Everything Theatre
“A sprawling and unfocused production of Shostakovich’s struggle to find true expression through music while appeasing his communist masters”
Reviewer: Clare Runacres
“Holy Fool is formed from a bold and interesting idea. Shostakovich led an extraordinary life during a period of turbulence and trauma for his homeland. The clash between artistic endeavour and the external pressures facing artists is real and problematic. It’s particularly pertinent given the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and the sanctioning of people who voice dissent. I’m pleased to see a new play tackling such important and weighty issues. I feel there is real potential here, but it is disappointing that it left so little of a mark on me.”
First Night Magazine
“Shostakovich-themed play brings no harmony — but it doesn’t conflict either”
Reviewer: Guillermo Názara
“Eventually, Holy Fool is nothing but a superficial, unenticing, and painfully boring piece, whose only appeal is the name it intends to honour — and fails to do so miserably. Despite acknowledging the man’s uncompromising ear, the whole thing comes out extremely out of tune with its audience and even its own ideas. Vehemently, it tries to strike a chord but forgets no one would listen.”
Jewish News
Reviewer: Jenni Frazer
“This tightly written play, directed with warmth and affection by Kate Fahy, benefits from two other actors doubling and in some cases tripling up on roles — Fergus O’Donnell and Phoebe Pryce. O’Donnell plays a close family friend, Izaak, but also brings great comic timing to a running gag role as a plumber, brought in to deal with leaks — leaks which may be literal and may also be metaphorical. You can practically hear him sucking his teeth as he turns into the Plumber from Hell.”
Production photographs by Mark Douet.
Also reviewed by: The Stage (Holly O’Mahony, three stars, “Requires some advanced knowledge”), whose review sits behind a paywall.
For more of what the critics have made of this autumn’s openings, see our roundups of The Story at the National Theatre and A Month in the Country at the Donmar Warehouse.
Holy Fool is booking at the Park Theatre until Saturday 10 October 2026.
