Dear Joanna, My Favourite Animals Are Scorpions is an unsettling exploration of childhood friendship, adolescent obsession and the ways in which seemingly innocent behaviour can develop into something much darker.
Written by Julia Rudd and directed by Elizabeth Laurence, the play follows Joanna, played by Grace Maltman, and Dave, played by Joseph Mason-Coombs, from childhood into adolescence. Dave becomes fascinated with Joanna and repeatedly tries to establish a friendship that she does not reciprocate. As they grow older, his attempts to gain her attention become increasingly obsessive. Letters, rumours and eventually voyeuristic behaviour shift what initially looks like an innocent childhood infatuation towards stalking and harassment.
The writing is the production’s biggest strength. Rudd gradually builds this progression rather than presenting Dave as immediately threatening. We watch a goofy, lonely child who simply wants to be noticed, and see how his inability to process rejection, combined with the influence of his peers, begins to take him somewhere much more troubling. Dave’s letters become particularly important in this progression. What begins as an attempt at connection becomes a record of his increasingly invasive behaviour, including his admission that he has watched Joanna through her bedroom window.
The play is particularly sharp in its exploration of the social environment around adolescent boys. Dave’s behaviour changes as he tries to fit into groups around him, using profanity and derogatory language towards Joanna to appear more confident and socially accepted. His loneliness does not excuse his behaviour, but the play is interested in how insecurity, peer pressure and a lack of emotional vocabulary can feed into harmful ideas about masculinity.
Grace Maltman gives Joanna a spirited and incisive presence. We initially see a girl with a strong don’t-care attitude, but as Dave’s actions become public, that confidence begins to fracture. Maltman allows us to see Joanna become increasingly anxious and conscious of how other people perceive her, giving the consequences of Dave’s behaviour an emotional reality. Joseph Mason-Coombs takes Dave through a convincing transformation. He begins as a goofy, dorky child whose desire to be Joanna’s friend is almost endearing. As he becomes increasingly isolated and seeks validation from other boys, Mason-Coombs allows that loneliness to turn into something more uncomfortable. The performance captures the unsettling process of watching someone channel rejection into behaviour that harms another person.
Elizabeth Laurence’s direction places considerable emphasis on dialogue and spoken word. The production is deliberately verbose, with words, vocal delivery and direct audience address doing much of the dramatic work. This made me think about the role language itself plays in the story: how something is said, repeated, leaked and interpreted can completely alter how a person is perceived. The production’s emphasis on speech makes words feel almost like actions in themselves. The minimal design complements this approach. Peiyao Wang’s design uses a hand-drawn floor filled with colourful figures, while the lighting remains relatively subtle. Rather than attempting to recreate every location, the design gives the actors space to drive the story through movement and action.
What was particularly striking was the response from the young people in the audience around me, particularly young women who seemed to recognise aspects of the situation being presented. The play captures an uncomfortable reality in which young women can end up navigating the consequences of boys’ behaviour, while the boys themselves may have little guidance around rejection, intimacy and emotional responsibility.
Dear Joanna is a strong piece of new writing that takes a familiar adolescent experience and gradually reveals its darker implications. It asks us to look closely at the point where infatuation becomes entitlement, and at the social conditions that can allow that transition to go unchallenged.
Reviewer: Gaurav Singh Nijjer
Reviewed: 26th September 2026
North West End UK Rating: