Fringe theatre is often compelling because it entertains through socially conscious narratives. Blindspot is no exception to this, cleverly and subtly touching on the prevalent topic of pregnancy, a woman’s body and the power she, her partner and society have over it. Written by Deanna Arthur and directed by Samantha Pears, Blindspot follows a couple, Sky and Noah (Deanna Arthur and Nathan Lwanga), as they take a pregnancy test and are forced to have a long-awaited conversation about the stage they’re truly at in their relationship. The play follows a non-linear structure and jumps between the past and the present, slowly revealing how no matter how much love there may be between two people, it doesn’t guarantee their paths are aligned.
Deanna Arthur has written a play with a really strong concept. It makes the audience reflect upon their own relationships and asks the question of how you would respond in an ultimately life-changing situation, where you and your partner struggle to see eye to eye. Arthur presents two alternative opinions on the pregnancy but does so gradually and gently, in order to foster empathy through the characters and the narrative, as opposed to causing a debate. The non-linear structure is very effective, building the tension and deepening our understanding of the characters. The play ends back where it started, with the characters picking up from where they left off. Despite technically there being practically no time passing throughout the play, the insertion of memories successfully helped to add weight to this huge moment the couple were experiencing. As the audience, we felt like active participants in the story, and Deanna Arthur did a good job of creating believable characters with natural dialogue, which was funny and relatable.
As director, Samantha Pears used the space very well. The stage was used to create multiple different locations, and the backstage area to expand the walls of the home. The pace of play was relatively slow, which for the most part worked well and added to the feeling that we were simply a fly on the wall during a genuine conversation; however, it felt a little on one level. The bickering between the couple could have benefited from feeling more heightened, to create more variation throughout the play and a bigger emotional arc. This would help it to feel like there was a little bit more at stake. As well as a directorial choice, this is also something that can be supported through the writing. If the characters were given more to come back from after falling out with each other, it would make the wholesome moments feel more compelling and their coming together even more satisfying.
Deanna Arthur and Nathan Lwanga were very convincing as a couple. They had great chemistry and bounced off each other wonderfully. Both did a very good job of showing the contrast in comfortability through their awkward body language between the start of their relationship and the present day, which was particularly impressive with there being major jumps in time. However, some moments from further back in the audience were a little difficult to hear, especially when they were speaking over music or a sound effect.
Bo Kristian Sorensen’s lighting design was simple but effective, with different colours being used to represent the different seasons; for example, a warm orangey light was used for the summer and a darker red for October. A deep blue was used when moving from one scene to the next, successfully signalling a shift in time. The blue was a neutral and warm choice, helping to reset the tone between scenes. Aqiong Zhang created beautiful shadow puppets which were projected onto the back wall. These highlighted the shift in time by stating the month and year, and later in the play, acted as a backdrop to a new location. The designs were a very simple concept and yet were very detailed. It is so refreshing for such creative ‘home-made’ designs to be used, as opposed to a text on a PowerPoint or God forbid… AI. This was such a lovely touch, and these creative elements are exactly what fringe (and theatre in general) is all about.
Blindspot is a relatable and important story to tell, executed uniquely. The play has so much potential, and Deanna Arthur has written something special. With a little more light and shade, the play would have more emotional disparity, helping it to have an even bigger impact on its already very immersed audience.
Blind Spot plays at The Bread and Roses Theatre on the 15th and 16th of October 2026 as part of Lambeth Fringe. https://lambethfringe.com/events/blind-spot
Reviewer: Holly-Lily
Reviewed: 15 October 2026
North West End UK Rating: