The dark-haired, throaty-voiced Helen McCrory is giving the female performance of the year so far in Paula Vogel’s “How I Learned to Drive”
Matt Wolf | July 13 , 1998 | Variety
Editorial use only
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Alastair Muir/Shutterstock (10639844a)
Helen McCrory. Kevin Whately
‘How I Learned to Drive, Play performed at the Donmar Theatre, London, UK 1998 – 07 May 2020
Those interested in tracing that thrilling moment when a promising young performer becomes a star should make tracks to the Donmar Warehouse, where the dark-haired, throaty-voiced Helen McCrory is giving the female performance of the year so far in Paula Vogel’s “How I Learned to Drive.” American visitors, of course, may feel they already know every backroad of Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, especially now that it looks to be produced throughout the United States. But there’s no way to prepare for the impact of McCrory’s fierce take on a character who is a survivor, yes, but at an enormous psychological price. Abetted by a production from the Donmar’s new associate director, John Crowley, that is every bit her equal, McCrory grabs the wheel of this sorrowful, shimmering play, and — as Li’l Bit herself might say — floors it.
Continue reading How I Learned to Drive at the Donmar Warehouse – Review