Critic Reviews

Every performance is a winner, from Marsan’s mousey Norrell, to Carvel’s brash Jonathan, to Englert’s increasingly mad and self-destructive Lady Pole.

Endlessly fascinating and driven by special effects every bit as sophisticated and powerful as the writing and characterization, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is a classic.

It's not everyone's cup of oolong, but it is an idiosyncratic tale bracingly told, generously whimsical but embellished with malevolence.

Skillfully directed, impeccably designed, and brilliantly cast, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is as charming, and as dark, as it could ever hope to be.

While short of magical, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is nonetheless an enjoyable enchantment.

Smart fun from the start, managing impressive spectacle even if it doesn’t have the visual firepower of the most epic Thrones episodes.

Darkly wondrous.

Infused with the considerable talents of Bertie Carvel and especially Eddie Marsan in the title roles, Peter Harness' adaptation is, like the book, a deft combination of Dickensian satire, Austenian wit and Gothic anxiety.

Carvel and especially Marsan give such invigorating performances, and play against each other so beautifully, that they breathe life into a friendship that in the book could feel, at times, a bit schematic.

The program features a mix of tones that don’t always sit together comfortably, but taken as a whole this unusual period drama entertains as it winds its way to introduce its lead characters in the premiere episode.