By Aline Mahrud

WORTH A LOOK? **1/2

WHEN? Saturday 13 December (matinee) and runs through 31 January 2026 RUNTIME 150 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Young Vic artistic director Nadia Fall takes to the stage immediately before this performance to say 3rd ‘tiger’ Peter Forbes (Follies, National Theatre) only read the play on Wednesday, 3 days ago.

• Read on for reasons including how we’d advise to go late in the run to see this production if at all

We bought our ticket back in March and were delighted when David Threlfall (A Moon For The Misbegotten, Almeida) was cast as the tiger not least because he was longlisted as Best Supporting Actor for his latest role.

Last week the show we were due to see was cancelled at late notice with the Young Vic announcing: ‘Due to cast illness, Kathryn Hunter has joined the company of Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo and will be performing the role of the Tiger until further notice. 

‘We wish David Threlfall a speedy recovery and look forward to welcoming him back to the show.’

Hunter gamely took the production through its press night with 5* from the Telegraph describing it as : ‘Funny, profound, must-see theatre.’

Unfortunately on our visit, Forbes’ 1st in the cast after the venue announced Threlfall would now no longer return, he was performing with the aid of 2 screen prompts in our eyeline which were hugely distracting for us, if reassuring for him.

It’s a shame because the late great Robin Williams played the part on Broadway in 2011 and it’s a role which has huge potential with the tiger biting the hand off an American soldier who taunts him after the Iraq invasion and then appearing as a ghost to comment on the events that follow.

Arinze Kene (Alterations, National Theatre) is 1 of our greatest actors and plays the soldier the tiger haunts and he proves his chameleon-like acting prowess by giving us something different from what we’ve seen from him before.

It’s a curious decision to replace the lead actor after press night. There is potential here but, if going, we’d advise to see it much later in the run when Forbes has had a reasonable chance to feel confident with the material.

We send our best wishes for a speedy recovery to Threlfall (pictured below) and feel the Young Vic, shortlisted for a Best Venue monsta this year after a joyously dark Entertaining Mr Sloane, has rather taken two steps back with Tiger after a step forward with Fall’s 1st production.

And when rebooking tickets after a show you’ve cancelled, we’d advise the venue to not provide less good equivalents and then allow other audience members to move forward into empty seats ahead of those you’ve already disappointed twice. A roaring failure.

• Main pictures via Facebook courtesy Young Vic Tickets
• Have you seen a Arinze Kene show before and what did you think of this 1? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
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