The Intrusion – Leeds Playhouse

Famously it’s said that cockroaches will be the only living things to survive a nuclear holocaust.

So, it makes sense for theatre makers Bric a Brac and Told by an Idiot to use our six legged insect friends acting as a metaphor for how the seemingly more advanced human race are determined to destroy our planet.

The Intrusion is set below a devastated earth’s surface as the cockroach’s scheme to take control until they discover the sole female survivor of our species, throwing the world domination plans of Queen of the Insects Cecille into disarray.

The really clever conceit of this often amusing, if slightly depressing, piece is that the cockroaches seem as obsessed with pointless hierarchies and destructive power dynamics as are our own billionaires and oligarchs.

Along the way on Michael Julings’ rudimentary post-apocalyptic set as the human waits to see if there is a future for mankind, we see glimpses on the video screens of how our species finally self-destructs, including a contribution from the orange idiot in the White House. Some of this is laid on a bit thick, but there is a smart piece of audience participation which puts the world ending into a more human context.

As you might expect from companies with a clowning pedigree there’s plenty of physical comedy, and great use of props, with Bridgeton’s Kitty Devlin as a nervy rebel roach earning plenty of laughs. Siobhan Cha Cha is fun as the increasingly beleaguered Cecille, and Alex Hinson’s powerful voice makes the most of the incidental songs that punctuate the narrative.

As a devised piece The Intrusion doesn’t always hit its targets, but there is more than enough here to make you think hard about what any of us would do if the world was about to end, which is certainly a pertinent message in these scary times.

Reviewer: Paul Clarke

Reviewed: 7th March 2025

North West End UK Rating: