(Ben Brantley’s article appeared in The New York Times, 8/5.)
LONDON — Importing Jesse Eisenberg’s “The Spoils” to this city was not exactly a no-brainer. Written by and starring Mr. Eisenberg, this lacerating comedy of humiliation — about a whiny, rich, hyper-articulate and terminally narcissistic young New Yorker who impulsively sabotages his own life and that of his Nepalese roommate — appeared destined to be lost in translation.
Yet since opening in June at Trafalgar Studios, “The Spoils,” staged in New York by the New Group last year, has become the best-selling production in that theater’s history. Scott Elliott, the show’s director and the New Group’s artistic director, now plans to help bring over more productions, starting with “Buried Child” with Ed Harris, seen earlier this year in New York.