Gasp-worthy, clunky, a moral problem? Critics react to The Hunger Games: On Stage

"The Super Bowl optics are all there from the off: a wardrobe of great gaudy glory (the 1960s, with twists of commedia dell'arte, the Palace of Versailles and alien-chic, designed by Moi Tran), a fast-changing set by Miriam Buether and energetic choreography from Charlotte Broom. The first half, prepping us for the gameshow, lacks tension, nonetheless. We are just hours away from being mortal enemies, Katniss says. But you don't feel the dread."

"Arifa Akbar, the Guardian Mia Carragher, daughter of ex-footballer Jamie, is an energetic central presence as Katniss Everdeen, the warrior who fights off rivals in the gory contest that's the ratings equivalent of Strictly Come Dancing in Panem, the grim state ruled by a foppish elite. But the fact that she's required to narrate much of the story while sprinting here and there is a distinct flaw."

"Clive Davis, the Times Playwright Conor McPherson and director Matthew Dunster have set this dystopian tale in a drab, delicately evoked version of Depression-era America, where the inhabitants of District 12 eke out a living amid coal-mining disasters and food shortages. A chorus of townsfolk sway like sun-bleached clothes on a washing line, powerless and adrift, in choreographer Charlotte Broom's evocative movement sequences."

An extravagant visual palette mixes 1960s gaudiness, commedia dell'arte, Versailles flourishes and alien-chic costumes by Moi Tran. Miriam Buether's fast-changing set and moving banks of seating create a hi-tech colosseum at Canary Wharf. Charlotte Broom's choreography blends martial arts, modern dance and hand-to-hand combat, while Ian Dickinson's sound design and strobe lighting heighten violence. Mia Carragher plays Katniss Everdeen with energetic centrality, but the requirement for her to narrate much while sprinting weakens dramatic tension. The production relocates the story to a drab, Depression-era America for District 12, where townsfolk suffer coal-mining disasters, food shortages and powerlessness.

Read at www.theguardian.com