(back to Stage)
After the Press Night
https://theartsdesk.com/theatre/haystack-hampstead-theatre-review-chilling-surveillance-state-thriller Oliver Johnstone and Enyi Okoronkwo create a believable bond as the two boys-with-toys tech boffins – a bond that’s increasingly strained – and give us a glimpse into the psychology of those who devote their lives to watching others. Their relationship with the excellent Sarah Woodward’s cagey counter-terrorism middle-manager is fascinatingly drawn, supplying both wry humour and chilling ambiguity.
https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2020/the-haystack-review-at-hampstead-theatre-london-whip-smart-new-thriller/ The best exchanges are those between Neil and Cora – with Neil adopting a pseudonym (and matching fake social media identity, natch) to be with her […] Oliver Johnstone and Rona Morison are highly impressive in the central roles, and their chemistry fizzes.
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/feb/07/the-haystack-review-hampstead-theatre-london Oliver Johnstone and Enyi Okoronkwo, as the sneak-geeks, convey the painful moral consequences of voyeurism, even when it’s for work.
http://www.sierz.co.uk/reviews/the-haystack-hampstead-theatre/ the cast is very good: Oliver Johnston’s socially awkward Neil contrasts nicely with Enyi Okoronkwo’s more laddish Zef, and their relationship is both believable and fun to watch.
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/c/counter-terror-alert A dextrous Johnstone and a convincing Morison both pull off impressive performances in challenging roles, while the rest of the cast tick all the required boxes.
https://laughfrodisiac.com/2020/02/11/the-haystack-at-the-hampstead-theatre-what-modern-theatre-wants-to-be/ Told in flashback after what seems like it’s going to be for sure a tragedy, the story centers on the work of Neil (Oliver Johnstone, I mean, so good) […] What’s great about this show is that, with Neil’s central performance, you know he’s doing bad things but you understand why, and I can’t really fault his reasoning for first going down this path (for continuing it, sure, lots of bad moves, but the initial part, I probably would have done the same). By establishing that empathy with him, you feel the anguish of his conflict, and his stress, my god the stress. Johnstone’s Neil is a guy we all know and like and root for, and he handles the weight of this role wonderfully
https://www.londonboxoffice.co.uk/news/post/review-the-haystack Oliver Johnstone and Enyi Okoronkwo gamely manage to avoid most of the nerdy clichés
https://www.thereviewshub.com/the-haystack-hampstead-theatre-london/ Johnstone is completely convincing, both as the work-obsessed techno wizard with zero social skills and the besotted lover that Neil transforms into.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-haystack-review-intelligent-and-witty-if-overlong-2bbnljt5x Our hero-cum-antihero Neil (Oliver Johnstone, terrific) is a computer geek at GCHQ.
Oliver Johnstone Actor 