Southwark Playhouse – until 14 June 2025
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
4****
Nancy Netherwood’s eerily enigmatic play is a masterclass in building melancholic tension with atmospheric music and a spareness of words.
Russell (Stuart Thompson) has left his music studies in London and returned to his childhood home, and his mother Maud (Wendy Nottingham) on a snowy night. Russell ominously states that “it” has happened again and the pair prepare for the arrival of Father Miller (Ben Allen). The room is initially shielded behind a gauze curtain, which is torn down by the mysterious figure of the Voice (Renée Lamb) pacing around the stage, singing and observing. The back wall of the Little is mirrored, reflecting the stage and actors as they stand outside the room, turning their backs on Russell, except for Lamb as she watches Russell constantly.
Maud and Russell’s conversations hint at the reasons for his disquiet: themes of homophobia, classism, religion and faith are raised but never explored explicitly, lulling the audience into thinking that this is psychological rather than supernatural. The arrival of Father Miller – a self-declared expert using pseudoscientific names for exorcism – shifts the pace of the dialogue and the play. Maud begins speaking in her best “telephone voice” (all our parents had them in the 1980s!) and Miller’s verbosity lightens the tension a little before he realises what he is up against.
Júlia Levai’s slick direction keeps the audience on edge, with any nostalgic feelings from the 80s music Russell plays soon swatted away by unsettling events. Lucia Sánchez Roldan lights Tomas Palmer’s atmospheric set brilliantly. Just as music plays a huge role in Russell’s life, Patch Middleton and Elinor Peregrin’s sound design creates onstage magic. Renée Lamb has the most incredible voice, and her vocals in the carols and folk songs here are gorgeously mellow, contrasting wonderfully with her wide-eyed prowling around the stage. The change as she portrays Russell’s uni friend Steph – full of unfiltered energy and joy – in flashbacks is superb. Stuart Thompson is astonishing as Russell –wickedly sharp, but heartbreakingly sad and lonely – a sublime nuanced performance. Wendy Nottingham is impressive as Maud, initially appearing cold and distant, but as the night progresses you realise that this is her defence for her and her son. Ben Allen portrays the unravelling of Father Miller’s reassuring professionalism with aplomb.
Exactly what is haunting Russell is left unsaid – we see how the Voice defends itself and Russell in gory detail and the reactions of those around him leave more questions than answers. But the mystery works and Netherwood’s skilfully woven haunting is chillingly entertaining.