Hampstead Theatre Downstairs, London – until 5th April 2025
Reviewed by Celia Armand Smith
4****
Dungeons and Dragons is not a world I inhabit, however it is a world I can appreciate for the community and creativity it provides its players. It is this community that is at the heart of The Habits, the debut play by Jack Bradfield. Set in WarBoar, a board games cafe in Bromley, we meet Jess, Maryn, and Milo. A slightly odd trio who come together to explore fantastical worlds as goblins, elves and wizards, making decisions and changing narratives or fates at the throw of a dice.
Jess (Ruby Stokes) is the schoolgirl Dungeon Master who rules over the table, whilst also grieving the loss of her fantasy loving brother, Matt. With a well thumbed notebook in her hand, she guides Milo and Maryn (Jamie Bisping and Sara Hazemi) through an unending story that revolves around finding The Nightmare King. Milo and Maryn were school friends of Matt and are both navigating early adulthood and struggling to find their place in the world. Milo is drifting from job to job and Maryn is on a daunting trajectory through the world of corporate law. A somewhat motley crew all looking for community and place which they find in WarBoar, the cafe owned by Dennis (Paul Thornley), a cargo shorts wearing role-play game enthusiast who enters the game with his lute and boundless enthusiasm. Last to enter is Bev (Debra Baker), Dennis’s straight talking police officer girlfriend who loves monopoly but is drawn into the world of magical goblins and singing dwarves.
The cast are fantastic and Ed Madden’s production dances along with heart and humour. At the centre is a teenager dealing with a huge darkness that enveloped her brother, and in her grief surrounds her also, but with the help of four willing participants, some gentle coaxing and some LARP costumes, she is able to see the light. Alys Whitehead’s design is minimal yet effective – a simple pentagonal table set in the round with dice, notebooks and a laptop playing a D&D playlist through tinny speakers. D&D is already so colourful and full of drama that a table is all you need. Max Pappenheim’s soundscapes blend reality and fantasy seamlessly, working with Laura Howard’s atmospheric lighting which amps up as the team reach the conclusion of the story.
Bradfield’s writing is smart and kind, and all of the characters are likable and funny. The Habits is so much more than a play about Dungeons and Dragons. It is a thoroughly enjoyable and heartwarming examination of navigating loss and grief, finding your tribe, and the wonderful power of creativity and imagination. As Dennis says “Who knows what adventures await?”