 "The Spectator"'s Kenneth Hurren criticized the play and the performance after the Royal Court Theatre premiere, arguing that the work consists of two different plays that "do not so much blend with as disappear into each other" and saying that Courtenay "has a hard time with Clare".In a 2001 article for "The New York Times", Benedict Nightingale described "The Fool" as "moving".Elizabeth Davis of "Kilburn Times" wrote, after seeing the 2010 performance directed by Bond, that "the play has powerful moments but the production was overly long (at 2hr 45mins) and, at times, as po-faced as the pompous vicar.