Festival Theatre, Malvern – until 13th June 2026
Reviewed by Courie Amado Juneau
4.5****
Single White Female began as a book, was adapted for the big screen and now we have a stage version – this time set here in dear old blighty.
The story concerns a recently single mum with not much money taking in a lodger in order to keep her daughter in good schooling and the roof over their heads. Unfortunately, the person who becomes the lodger turns out to be more than a tad deranged…
Our two leading ladies made a really compelling and complimentary pair. Lisa Faulkner (as Allie, mother of Bella and the one seeking a lodger) was rather posh but down on her luck, high on aspirations and rather conservative in nature. By contrast, Kym Marsh played Hedy with a sultry, mysterious air. Kym truly shined in the unhinged moments and subtle looks, which chilled the room. A magnificent femme fatale!
Amy Snudden was utterly believable as 15 year old Bella, daughter of Allie; full-on angst at not being popular, with attitude aplenty and emotions turning a sixpence. Dare I say – a star is newly emerging.
The cast was rounded out by two fine male characters; Andro as Graham, business partner and friend of Allie and Jonny McGarrity as Sam, ex husband and general pain in the side of Allie, cause of most of her misfortune. Varied parts in terms of characters but essential to the story and skillfully acted with gusto.
The programme points out that the scene has been transplanted to “present day in a new build nightmare tower block”. Cleverly playing on the high rise cladding nightmare claustrophobia of being trapped inside your own home due to a lack of funds to escape the poverty trap, Adapter Rebecca Reid brings this classic bang up to date. There is some humour but overall it’s a quietly brooding piece, like a slow cooked casserole that simmers before unleashing it’s full flavour.
The set was designed by Morgan Large, giving us an interesting, gloriously lived in, 90’s concoction of black and neon, which lit entertainingly whilst period bangers blasted out. This clever device gave the stage hands time to get props to be put in place and the actors an opportunity to readjust themselves. Lots of loud bangs and jumpy moments adding to the tense atmosphere and highlighting some key points of the story in a subtle but clever way.
I’ll also mention that there was some superb use of original music throughout, with very low thuds and rumbles executed at just the right places to enhance the on-stage action. I presume this was composed by Sound Designer Max Pappenheim. It was very filmic and propelled the story along nicely using (I’m sure) many a subconscious cue which hearkened back to all those Hitchcockian memories which inhabit the dark corners of our psyche.
I really enjoyed tonight’s play. I only vaguely remembered the original film but that didn’t matter as this piece stands on its own merits. Not perfect (yet) but a classic in the making and well worth a visit to your friendly neighbourhood theatre to catch. Very much recommended.