THE GUEST
Omnibus Theatre
★★★★★
“powerful, provocative, and resonant”
Behind the ivy-covered walls of their quaint English cottage, Ricky and Joe – a middle-aged couple – live a quiet life, enjoying the fruits of their labour, both tangible and intangible. Their days are filled with gardening and tender conversations, the sort of domestic tranquillity earned over years of shared love and quiet perseverance.
But the rhythm of their peaceful life shifts the moment a stranger crosses their threshold.
The Guest is a poignant and timely stage production that echoes the England of today – an England grappling with the escalating realities of climate change, where each day seems hotter than the last. “Hot, isn’t it?” they mutter to each other. “Forty-one… nearly forty-two, they said.” The search for shade has become an impossible task, even under the once-reliable vines in their garden.
Into this sweltering, shifting landscape (brought to life with Christianna Mason’s simple, yet effective set design and enhanced by Imogen Senter’s intense lighting) walks Hannah, a young mother newly arrived in the country, portrayed with haunting depth by Erica Tavares-Kouassi. Initially asking only for a glass of water, Hannah’s brief visit becomes a daily presence, and soon, tensions begin to rise. Conversations morph into confrontations. Small talk spirals into debates, and eventually into shouting matches, revealing the deeply embedded fears, misunderstandings, and prejudices lurking just beneath the surface of civility.
Tavares-Kouassi’s performance is nothing short of extraordinary, capturing the emotional weight of the immigrant experience – from the hopes and hardships of arrival to the struggle for recognition and belonging in a place that feels simultaneously foreign and familiar.
Stephanie Jacob (who also wrote the play) as Ricky and Graham Turner as Joe deliver equally compelling performances driven by Lucy Richardson’s skilful direction. They embody the emotional complexity of those witnessing change from within the comfort of their long-established routines. Through them, we feel the creeping uncertainty of a world that no longer feels predictable, the unease that comes with confronting the unknown, and the quiet panic of being asked to leave the safety of the familiar “nest.”
The Guest is more than a play – it is a mirror held up to our society. It tackles bigotry, xenophobia, and the fear of the “other” with nuance and grace. The script is beautifully written, deeply human, and painfully relevant. In a world that grows more divided by the day, it reminds us that beneath our differences lies a shared need – for connection, for compassion, for home.
This is a must-see production: powerful, provocative, and resonant. It doesn’t just ask us to watch – it asks us to feel, to reflect, and perhaps, to change.
THE GUEST
Omnibus Theatre
Reviewed on 10th April 2025
by Beatrice Morandi
Photography by Héctor Manchego
Previously reviewed at this venue:
VANYA IS ALIVE | ★★★★ | February 2025
THE ICE AT THE END OF THE WORLD | ★★★★ | September 2024
MY LIFE AS A COWBOY | ★★★ | August 2024
HASBIAN | ★★★★ | June 2024
COMPOSITOR E | ★★★ | September 2023
