Reviews are in for The Vortex!

News 5 May 2023

News Story

Festival 2023 is officially open and reviews for The Vortex are in. Have a scroll through the critics comments below and then book your tickets and see for yourself! The Vortex plays in the Festival Theatre until 20 May with tickets from £10.

4 Stars

Lia Williams and her son Joshua James make a scintillating double act in a resonant revival of Noël Coward’s swirling jazz age psychodrama

Guardian

4 Stars

What Lia Williams and her hugely talented son Joshua James achieve together in this production of The Vortex at Chichester Festival Theatre is nothing short of sensational: an entrancing chemistry that catalyses Noël Coward’s script to capture something wonderfully profound about the co-existence of conflict and love in a dysfunctional family

Telegraph

The Vortex company dance onstage. Lia Williams's as Florence is central in a long, puffy cream coloured dress. She holds one hand behind her head, the other is on Sean Delaney's (Tom) shoulder as they dance. Behidn them are other characters dancing and around the piano.
Sean Delaney (Tom), Lia Williams (Florence), Evan Milton (Bruce), Isabella Laughland (Bunty) and Jessica Alade (Clara) in Chichester Festival Theatre's The Vortex Image: Helen Murray 2023

Lia Williams and Joshua James give captivatingly raw performances

Times

5 Stars

Daniel Raggett’s take on the piece is truly exquisite. Entertaining, direct and visually symbolic. Chichester Festival Theatre has opened its 2023 to an absolute triumph

First Night Magazine

Lia Williams and Joshua James are outstanding. A scintillating final scene is the perfect showcase for real-life mother, superbly acted

Chichester Observer

A woman in a white shirt and cream trousers (Lia Williams as Florence) sits on a tan couch, smiling while holding a paper. To her right sits a younger man in a large black jacket, also looking at the paper.
Lia Williams (Florence) & Joshua James (Nicky) in The Vortex at Chichester Festival Theatre Image: Helen Murray 2023

Priyanga Burford’s Helen, and Hugh Ross as husband David, supply a civilized, prudent gravitas as the other principals swirl towards disaster. And at its centre Lia Williams and Joshua James are sensational together

Libby Purves, Theatre Cat

A wide angle of the CFT stage, with a plush green carpet and multiple couches, chairs and lamps around the stage. On stage stand three actors in conversation, all in grand-looking clothes. In the background stands a butler.