★★★★★ “The tumultuous applause at the end was as much of a release of tension in the audience as it was a deserved acknowledgement of the sheer excellence of this production of a complex, provocative and relevant play.” – Northern Soul
★★★★★ “Janet Suzman’s performance as Rose is outstanding. The production is a triumph for teamwork and a must-see for Manchester’s theatregoers.” – Manchester Confidential
★★★★★ “Rose offers audiences a rare opportunity to witness an outstanding actress at the very top of her game… It is a performance not to be missed.” – The Arts Shelf
★★★★ “[Janet] Suzman is terrific… It’s a treat to see this still potent actor in full sail. A richly rewarding production.” – Jewish Chronicle (print only)
★★★★★ “[Janet] Suzman is stunning… She is riveting… A brilliantly executed revival with an amazing central performance.” – Attitude
★★★★★ “Suzman recounts with passion, pathos, and great wit, the gripping story of one woman’s astonishing journey through some of the most harrowing and tumultuous events of the twentieth century… A definite must-see production.” – North West End
“The chance to see a great actress share a lifetime of expertise and experience is not one to be missed.” – Weekend Notes
“Immaculately staged… Janet Suzman gives a faultless performance… Spellbinding.” – The Stage
“A fascinating story… A wonderful solo performance of a complex and relevant play that will make you think for a long time after the end.” – Quiet Man Dave
“Janet Suzman gives a wonderful performance as Rose… She gives it such life and warmth with lots of humour and no sign of bitterness… She tells a story that we all should know as it is all our history, written and performed with flashes of brilliance and great skill.” – British Theatre Guide
“Tremendous… a tour-de-force performance from Janet Suzman that wrings every last ounce of mischief and humour from a life of tragedy, perseverance and survival… The tumultuous applause at the end was as much of a release of tension in the audience as it was a deserved acknowledgement of the sheer excellence of this production.” – Manchester Theatre Awards
“Triumphant… It is a measure of [Janet] Suzman’s performance that she brings both Rose and the characters she describes to life so vividly. We don’t see so much of a ‘theatrical’ performance as the truth. And that is what makes such good theatre.” – TheatreWorld Internet Magazine
★★★★ “A tour-de-force… Quite simply blown away, and it won a richly deserved standing ovation… If the aim of theatre is to educate then this play certainly achieves that.” – Get the Chance Wales
“[An] extraordinary solo performance… This beautifully produced, flawlessly acted revival could hardly be more timely and important.” – Audience Bulldog
“What isn’t in doubt in this major revival is the eloquence of [Martin Sherman’s] writing, brought to life by [Janet] Suzman in a wonderfully engaging masterclass as she merely sits on a bench and talks, word perfect and with great depth, humour and intimacy, across two one-hour stints. The result is staggeringly powerful and funny. Catch it if you can.” – Oldham Evening Chronicle
“Heart-warming, funny and incredibly poignant… In terms of theatre, this is as good as it gets… A must-see play and a tour de force from Janet Suzman. ” – Canal Street
“Rose is entirely held together by Suzman’s raw performing talent and the quality of the tale being told; this is a masterly story-telling performance.” – The Greater Manchester Reviewer
“Dame Janet Suzman is sublime. She plays Rose with utter conviction, sensitivity and a delicious sense of mischief… It’s quite beautiful to watch… A profound, beautiful and moving play.” – Unrestricted Views
“Dame Janet Suzman not only plays the title role but literally embodies the emotional depth and complexity of her life journey. Suzman’s portrayal of Rose is fascinating… Rose is relevant, important, and has a stunning central performance from [Dame Janet] Suzman.” – The Reviews Hub
“One woman in black, the brief whiteness in her extraordinarily expressive face and hands, held the audience transfixed, moved and entertained. Every shiva house has its occasional lighter moments, so it was to be expected that in sitting shiva for an entire century, Janet Suzman succeeded in bringing wit, humanity and even a little hope to this tragic story.” – Jewish Renaissance
“Dame Janet Suzman’s presence overwhelms the stage; no other actors are needed… Her performance as the solitary character is astounding.” – Humanity Hallows
“Dame Janet Suzman delivers a poignantly hypnotic performance… From the moment she appears immersed in a narrow halo of white light on an otherwise darkened stage, Suzman possesses the character with such vigour and authenticity that you discover yourself drawn into the shadowy chasms of her memory.” – Mancunian Matters
‘Rose is a refugee: one of that undifferentiated mass we see on today’s TV screens…Each one of those millions currently on the move will have a story as bitter, as sweet and as human as Rose’s…and if that makes this play eerie in its timeliness, then surely the story at the heart of Rose makes it all the more resonant for 2017’
– Guardian Columnist Jonathan Freedland
One of the leading actors of her generation, Academy Award nominee Dame Janet Suzman makes a rare return to the stage in this one-actor tour de force.
We present the first UK revival of Martin Sherman’s award-winning Rose, which premiered in 1999 at the National Theatre.
From her home in Miami, Florida, the eighty-year-old Rose takes us on a journey through her long and tumultuous life, a life that charts the fate of Europe’s Jews through the Twentieth Century and into the Millennium. A journey which begins in the ‘shtetls’ of Eastern Europe and continues through Nazi-occupied Warsaw, British Mandate Palestine, America, Israel and the Occupied Territories. It is an epic story of persecution, displacement and survival told with passion, pathos and a wild humour.
As the current refugee crisis engulfs Europe and America’s reputation as a safe haven for the persecuted comes under serious threat, this revival of Rose is both topical and timely.
Rose is directed by Richard Beecham, whose recent production of Arthur Miller’s epic Playing for Time at the Sheffield Crucible garnered rave reviews.