THE WASP, London, to 16 01 16
London.
THE WASP
by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm.
Trafalgar Studio 2
14 Whitehall, London SW1A 2DY to 16 January 2016.
Mon-Sat 7.45pm Mat Thur & Sat 3pm. Mat only on 24 Dec; no performance 25 Dec; no 7.45pm on 31 December.
Runs 1hr 30 mins No interval.
TICKETS: 0844 871 7632.
www.atgtickets.com
Review: William Russell 11 December.
Hell hath no fury in this dazzling thriller
Heather has arranged a meeting with an old classmate Carla. She has a proposition to put to her. Heather is a smart, well educated woman, a high flying businesswoman with a rich, but unfaithful, husband. Carla is a working class woman, with four children, another on the way, who has, to make ends meet, been on the game. She is puzzled as to why they are meeting because the two had a very difficult relationship as schoolgirls.
Heather, in spite of that polished, assured exterior, proves to be deeply damaged and to bear grudges. Her proposition is one Carla should have resisted taking up, but she needs the money Heather offers.
The result is a dazzling battle for survival between the two women with shifts of power as the events of their past and present – Facebook plays a significant part - are slowly revealed. It seems at first that Carla is the tough one, the earth mother happy enough with her lot, but it turns out that the childless Heather is the dominant figure and this being a thriller her proposition is not what she pretends.
The Wasp is one of those plays about which it really is impossible to say anything much except that Myanna Buring as Carla and Laura Donnelly as Heather give splendid performances.
A really classy thriller it grips the attention from start to finish and has some potent things to say about how what has happened in childhood can affect what happens later on in life. Some old friends should be avoided like the plague. Some propositions should be ignored.
Carla: Myanna Buring.
Heather: Laura Donnelly.
Director: Tom Attenborough.
Set & Costume Designer: David Woodhead.
Lighting Designer: Oliver Fenwick.
Sound Designer: Luke Swaffield.
2015-12-13 14:38:24