The Forsyte Saga opened at the Finsbury Park Theatre on 11th October, with press night held on 19th Oct 2024. The reviews have been shared online, and they have been wonderful.

Fiona Hampton impresses as Irene, the young wife chafing at marriage to the wealthy solicitor Soames, played with calcified rage by Joseph Millson. His rape of her, which prompts the pivotal family schism, is rendered both shockingly and sparely. His menace is palpable, but so is the warped sense of honour that underwrites his sense of entitlement. Millson is stunning as Soames, but everyone impresses in a role-swapping cast of nine that feels like twice that many. The Times

But it is Millson’s riveting performance as the conflicted Soames that really stands out. Skilfully balancing loathsome acts with tenderness and fragility, Millson eloquently conveys suppressed longing, rage and a pathological need to control, while maintaining a mask of impenetrable decorum. Fingers fidgeting, eyebrows knitting in vexation, his smallest gestures speak volumes, and though his character grows ever less sympathetic as his manifold errors drag down everyone around him, Millson succeeds in keeping him grounded and believable. Ultimately, it is Soames’ struggle – and repeated failure – to reject rapacious greed that makes this sweeping story so gripping. The Stage

He is helped by pitch-perfect performances from his tireless cast. As Soames, Joseph Millson perfectly portrays the self-satisfied rectitude of a man of property who believes that his wealth and respectability entitle him to control the world around him, but also self-doubt and emotion of someone who cannot express his feelings and cannot – crucially – possess the one thing that is of any value to him. He played the same part in the radio adaptation, and it shows in the depth he brings to the portrayal, conveyed through tiny gestures and clenched jaw; however badly Soames behaves, Millson constantly suggests the sadness within. What's On Stage

Joseph Millson plays the pivotal role of Soames Forsyte perfectly. Soames is pointedly careful, sinister and menacingly chilling. The character is so multifaceted in his obsessive want to possess Irene as an object of property. His relationship with his daughter in Part 2 is the making of him, creating one genuinely selfless and loving relationship. Fleur is the undoing of Soames, and serves as the embodiment of many of his unpleasant characteristics, bringing the theme of fateful and ill-advised belonging to full circle. The theatre signage provided necessary trigger warnings for the sexual abuse content and the intimacy scene was choreographed in a sensitive way. Broadway World

Joseph Millson presents an upright but inflexible Soames, but he is not without feeling. The unforgivable violence towards Irene, which aims to reclaim her but alienates him from her forever, is prompted by advice from his father. Behaviour that sent a shock through a nation of television viewers is made equally abhorrent, but this Soames isn’t evil. British Theatre Guide

Joseph Millson, reprising his role from the radio production, is superb as Soames – buttoned-up and socially awkward with no sense of humour (though he is unintentionally droll). The way he “asserts his rights” as a husband (which, shockingly, wasn’t criminalised until 1991) is reprehensible and yet he himself isn’t entirely despicable, being so much a product of his environment. London Theatre

The Forsyte Saga runs until 7th December!