John Heffernan is, at times, excellent as Edward II; he effortlessly captures the frailty of a man who bends to the dominant personality in the room and fatally fails to see how he is isolating himself from his oldest allies, including Kent – his sister – and Pembroke. Heffernan is an actor of huge potential and the transformation from his dominant, sensual Lush in The Hot House couldn’t be more stark. civiliantheatre.com
…. the National has got in first with an “Edward II” that is sure to divide spectators on every front but one — the superb performance of the fast-ascending actor John Heffernan in the title role. ……. It’s difficult to argue too much, however, with a tactic that keeps playgoers apprised at every turn of Mr. Heffernan’s keenly sensitized portrayal, Edward’s downward spiral made doubly plain by scene titles informing us of the grim trajectory of the piece as it is happening. Even acting behind a beard in what must be the most hirsute production in memory, the actor awakens us to Edward’s grievous surrender to the sleep-deprived torment that soon after leads to his gruesome demise. nytimes.com
That said, I’m pretty sure Marlowe would have had a heart attack at the amount of snogging that John Heffernan’s Edward and Kyle Soller’s Gaveston indulge in here. Nonetheless, these two terrific actors give this eye-popping evening its beating heart. ……… But Heffernan is the real key – frail and handsome, he spends most of the first half giving in to his appetites and most of the second suffering intensely as his nobles debate his fate after purging his lovers. Even at his most feckless he is intensely moving, an affable young gay man utterly trapped by his birth. timeout.com
John Heffernan Actor 