Park Theatre, London – until 20 September 2025
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
4****
Benny Ainsworth’s dark and twisted play is not for the faint hearted, finding humour in the bleakest of moments. The romance between Benny (Ainsworth) and Rachel (Sally Paffett) starts in macabre circumstances as they crane for the best view of a suicidal trespasser from their train window. A fast but seemingly conventional relationship finds them moving into their new three bedroomed home – one bedroom each (Billy snores) and a room for their baby. Ainsworth and Paffett initially have a cheerful chemistry, taking turns to tell their story and watching each other eagerly. As they settle into the house and realise that they are not alone, the infestation of rats drives them apart and the shared narration becomes more fractured and antagonistic. The couple’s different attitudes towards the rats in their house could not be further apart, with Billy reverting to his childhood fascination of finding the most painful deaths possible for animals, and Rachel bonding with the creatures and treating them like family. A late scene explains the part burying loss and grief has played in the unravelling of their relationship and their descent into violent madness.
Ainsworth and Paffett are mesmerising as the troubled pair and deliver passionate portrayals of the broken characters. Ainsworth is horribly dynamic as Billy describes the deaths he inflicts, while Paffett is astonishing portraying Rachel’s heartbreakingly desperate search for what she has lost. The characters become more articulate and almost poetic when describing their grotesque obsessions and violent acts, and the play escalates to Shakespearean levels of betrayal and gore.
Michael Parker’s astute direction focuses on the storytelling: Ben Sorab’s sound design and Alex Lewer’s lighting build the tension and all this stellar cast need are two chairs and Ainsworth’s incredible script. Unmissable and unsettling fun.