4000 Miles – here's what the nationals thought of Chichester Festival Theatre’s production

Late one night, 21-year-old Leo arrives without warning at his grandmother’s Manhattan apartment – the furthest point on a momentous bike ride across America. Vera is 91 and lives alone. Her independence is undimmed by the challenges of modern living. Baffled by each other at first, this odd couple slowly edge across the distance between them.

Here's what the critics thought:

SussexWorld: Well, we absolutely loved it: “Richard Eyre’s production of Amy Herzog’s 4000 Miles is precisely the reason the Minerva is there – the kind of play you know virtually nothing about beforehand but which turns out to be an absolute gem, warm, wise and rather wonderful. Not a lot happens, but it doesn’t need to. There is poignancy and profundity on a terrific opening night in this year’s Minerva programme.” Sussex World review here

The Guardian: “4000 Miles is less uproarious than that may suggest as, in an interval-free hour and a half, it explores communication both thwarted and hard won.” The Guardian review here

What’s On Stage: “I personally would travel 4,000 miles just to see Atkins perform, and she is undoubtedly the best thing about this imagining of a meeting between Leo, a traumatised 21-year-old who has just cycled across America, and his grandmother Vera, who lives in Greenwich Village surrounded by books and fading memories.” What’s On Stage review here

The Stage: “Gripping performances energise this downbeat drama about social responsibility and intergenerational friendship.” The Stage review here

inews.co.uk: “4000 Miles review, Minerva, Chichester: A dangerously flat and underpowered trudge.” inews.co.uk review here

The Daily Telegraph: “4000 Miles: Eileen Atkins’s old Leftist eccentric lacks a little puff. The Covid-delayed drama has finally opened – albeit without Hollywood star Timothée Chalamet – yet it still needs time to bed in.” The Daily Telegraph review here

The Times: “Eileen Atkins compels as a leftie matriarch.” The Times review here