of Variety wrote that the surrealist scenes "aren’t sufficiently illuminating to justify their inclusion in an otherwise very worldly play", and that the play's complexities could strain audience interest. However, Isherwood also dubbed the final scene "a comic, appropriately cacophonous end to a play that reverberates with the profound messiness of human history." Jeremy Gerard of the same magazine called Mad Forest "brilliant" in a review of a later Churchill play. BBC's Jamie Searle described the play as a "bold, striking" drama, writing that the second act of eye-witness accounts "gives us a powerful insight into the developing events and their impact on the people, the confusion, disbelief, hope and bravery shown against the seemingly invulnerable state machine." Lyn Gardner of The Guardian quipped in 2009 that Mad Forest "still feels vivid and fresh". Chris Klimek wrote in 2011 that it captures the bedlam of a society in rapid upheaval, but also that "Churchill’s diversions into surrealism [...] are often clearer than the more naturalistic stretches, where even after nearly three hours, some relationships remain opaque." Barbara Lounsberry of The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier wrote in 2011, "I wish the long Act III could be pruned. It didn't register as powerfully for me as the first two very different acts-although the post-revolution fear, paranoia, guilt, and myriad questions certainly come through." Myron Meisel reviewed the play positively in The Hollywood Reporter two years later, writing (of four days important in the play's universe) that "Churchill remarkably does not oversimplify the action, imparting an extraordinary amount of detail with confident economy." With regards to a character's discussion of possible conspiracies, Meisel argued that "these issues of what really happened continue unresolved nearly 25 years on, a testament to the durability of Churchill’s insights into the events." Jennie Webb of Backstage stated, "Revolution is never black and white, and Churchill wisely dwells in uncertainty and targets the surreal nature of social and political shifts in a world where the more things change, the more they stay the same." However, the critic found the "realistic aspects" of Act 3 problematic because of absurdity of the questions the characters were facing. Webb wrote that Mad Forest "ends up being a bit drawn out and unwieldy, but it’s still well worth the trip." Beth Schachter, who directed a performance of the play, said in 2014, "Working on that production gave me insight into what is going