'We always think of Lawrence of Arabia, the man in the flowing robes, astride a camel, in the desert. Now, thanks to this new play by Howard Brenton, we know what happened after Arabia.'

'I found it fascinating, probably because Brenton does not attempt to tell a great sweep of history but, far more interesting, the messy aftermath.'

'The genius here is that it feels as if we have been given that access, a magic window to see what really happened to Lawrence after Arabia.'

'It’s 100 years since the beginning of the Arab Revolt that Lawrence so fiercely supported, and which promised freedom for the Middle Eastern lands – a promise, which, Brenton argues, was betrayed by the British and French and which has led to the terrorist atrocities which haunt the Western world today.'
' A quiet masterpiece.'
'The evocation of the crazed life in the Shaw home is clever and engaging. Laskey, as Lawrence, exudes youthful gung-ho'
'Geraldine James brings intense emotion as Mrs Shaw, while Jeff Rawle, rubicund and bearded, is an aphorism-spouting Shaw'
'The skill of the play is that it doesn’t make you think; it lets you think.'

 

'Howard Brenton’s richly wrought Lawrence After Arabia'

'In a coup de theatre the walls of Michael Taylor’s lovingly detailed recreation of Shaw’s study fly open to reveal the vast vista of the Arabian desert'

'John Dove’s production is beautifully paced and splendidly cast. Jack Laskey, physically slight but emotionally commanding, makes a deeply sympathetic Lawrence. Jeff Rawle gives Shaw an authentic and engaging twinkle.'

'Best of all is Geraldine James, bringing her trademark blend of clarity and sincerity to the role of Charlotte.'

'Brenton's Lawrence After Arabia turns the pages of the past to mark T.E. Lawrence's passionate advocacy of the Arabian cause – and make the point that in carving up the Middle East for its own ends, Britain laid the foundations of the region's current problems. And so of its own.'

'Lawrence (sensitively played by Jack Laskey) is seeking to reinvent himself, and takes refuge in the home of George Bernard Shaw (Jeff Rawle, very funny)... Geraldine James luminously suggests the depth of Charlotte's care for both men'

'It's also full of wonderful, zinging lines, and a sharp-eyed observation of the collision between Bohemian values and establishment rules.'

'TE Lawrence's days of derring-do during the First World War are long gone and the soldier-turned-writer (played by the gung-ho Jack Laskey) is seeking anonymity'

'The evocation of life in the Shaw home is clever and engaging'

'Geraldine James brings intense emotion as Shaw's wife.'