PLAYHOUSE, LIVERPOOL – UNTIL SATURDAY 18TH OCTOBER 2025
REVIEWED BY MIA BOWEN
4****
Anna Jordan’s “Lost Atoms“, created in collaboration with Frantic Assembly for their 30th anniversary, offers a thoughtful exploration of connection, memory, and the enduring effects of love. Known for her ability to capture the complexities of human experience in plays such as “Yen” and “We Anchor in Hope“, Jordan effectively brings her unique voice to this work. She skilfully combines naturalism with poetic elements, successfully balancing humour and emotional depth. Through her exploration of how people form bonds and navigate the process of letting go, Jordan invites audiences to reflect on their own relationships and the profound moments that shape them.
The story of Jess and Robbie presents a rich collage of memories that blends playfulness, chaos, and genuine emotion. Jordan effectively highlights the nuanced aspects of intimacy, such as the warmth of shared laughter and the burden of unspoken grief, while courageously addressing themes of pain. Her characters, though imperfect, feel vividly alive, offering a compelling exploration of how our memories influence our identities and shape who we are.
Joe Layton as Robbie and Hannah Sinclair Robinson as Jess give captivating performances, radiating warmth, vulnerability, and an electric chemistry that anchors the production. Layton’s Robbie is richly layered, charming and impulsive on the surface yet quietly fractured beneath, while Robinson’s Jess combines strength, tenderness, and raw emotional clarity. Together, they inhabit their characters with such authenticity that every glance and gesture feels weighted with shared history. Their physical storytelling, crafted through Frantic Assembly’s signature movement, speaks volumes beyond words: a lift becomes an act of trust, a stumble an expression of heartbreak. The result is a portrayal of love that feels both intimate and universal; fragile, aching, and profoundly human.
Lost Atoms presents a visually captivating experience, thoughtfully intertwined with the story’s emotional depth. Andrzej Goulding’s set design — with its shifting panels, suspended lights, and fragments of domestic space — creates a fluid, dreamlike environment that draws the audience closer and enriches the storytelling. Simisola Majekodunmi’s lighting design washes over each scene with exquisite balance, while Carolyn Downing’s sound and Julie Blake’s music supervision linger like half-remembered echoes.
Lost Atoms confirms Anna Jordan as one of Britain’s most empathetic playwrights — a haunting, heartfelt triumph of movement, memory, and love.