Dark magic, addiction and competitive home decorating underly the apparently genteel lives of two suburban couples. Charlotte (Rebecca Wilkie) and Colin (Nicholas Alban) are the proverbial Joneses that everyone tries to keep up with. They have almost everything that their tiny minds have ever dreamed of – but they are struggling to conceive a baby.
Hannah (Cara Watson) and Ben (Conor O’Durger) are not doing so well. Ben is struggling at work and desperately trying to keep up appearances. When Charlotte and Colin explain their secret, he is intrigued.
Our Stepford couple reveal that they have decorated their home with mysterious symbols that have been used to alter reality since ancient times. They draw Ben into their cult, and he attributes his increasing success to the symbols. Ben becomes obsessed with the symbols, but Hannah is not so sure.
Ben spirals into addiction, and it turns out that the symbols are not as harmless as he has been led to believe.
Wilkie is fabulous as the smug, pushy neighbour, ostensibly trying to help her friends, but what does she really want? O’Durger beautifully captures Ben’s journey from insecure also-ran to abusive addict, and I understand that he undertook considerable research into the experiences of addicts to inform his performance. Watson is convincing as the sceptic who is torn between helping her husband and her own wellbeing, and Alban is inscrutable as the husband who solidly stands beside his wife as they wreak havoc together.
There were a couple of points early in the show where I thought the pace could have been picked up a bit, but as the show moves towards its conclusion, all four actors bring a devastating intensity to the story.
The script, by Daniel Williams, keeps us guessing right up to the end, and the team, directed by Liam Rees, make good use of the small stage in the Banshee Labyrinth Chamber Room.
The set is minimal, and we never see the symbols. They live in the true realm of horror: our imagination.
The cosy but sinister setting enhances the scariness of this enjoyable, unsettling piece and the performances raise it up to another level. Go and see it if you can!
Reviewer: Wendy McEwan
Reviewed: 28th October 2023
North West End UK Rating: