★★★

“an ambitious piece with a killer concept”

A tiled backdrop and a stainless steel table set the mortuary scene, the lone hammer hinting at the menace to come. The Grim promises to blend impish slapstick comedy with clinical chill — horror and humour, light and dark, gangsters and sweeties — but while it sets plenty in motion, it never fully commits to what’s lurking in the dark.

Set in a 1960s East End mortuary, the play follows proprietor Shaun (Edmund Morris, who also wrote the script) and his assistant Robert (Louis Davison) as they await the arrival of notorious gangster and serial killer Jackie Gallagher (Harry Carter), recently gunned down. As they wait, strange things begin to stir, and the pair soon find themselves at the centre of their own ghost story.

What follows is truly a play of two halves. Morris’ script fires out gags and slapstick at an impressive rate, though the sheer volume sometimes leaves you wanting more texture. Their double act — pairing Shaun’s cynicism with Robert’s belief in religion and the occult — makes for an intriguing dynamic, and there are moments that hint at their respective histories. These glimpses, however, are never fully explored, quickly sidelined for another volley of barbs between the bickering pair.

Ben Woodhall’s direction keeps the energy buoyant, though a few moments feel hurried when they might have benefitted from being held — especially given the play’s flirtation with horror. His pacing leans toward the comic, but this often undercuts the tension the production seems keen to build.

The result is a comedy-heavy first act that rarely pauses long enough to let tension breathe, so the horror beats that do appear arrive abruptly, without the slow creep that might have given them more power. Lighting by Joe Hawkings and sound by Fergus Carver do their best to conjure unease, sharpening sudden shocks and adding atmosphere to Hiba Medina’s well-designed set, but while the potential for dread is there, it never quite settles over the room.

Then an interval comes with surprising abruptness, halting the momentum just as the play begins to shift gear. It’s with the arrival of Jackie Gallagher that the production truly stirs to life — quite literally. The jokes are pared back ever so slightly and better balanced by the new threat onstage. Carter is excellent: his physicality dominates the small space, prowling with a palpable sense of danger while still gesturing toward unexpected emotional depth. It’s a stand-out performance that hints of a richer, stranger play struggling to get out.

Elsewhere, certain character choices feel loosely justified, functioning more as devices to move the plot than as organic developments. The final stretch lands quickly and somewhat bluntly, leaving questions about what the piece ultimately wants to say or how its supernatural thread is meant to sit alongside its crime-comedy roots.

Ultimately, The Grim is an ambitious piece with a killer concept that doesn’t always deliver on its promise. Morris’ script shows signs of a fine writer — there are sharp lines and spirited performances throughout — but light without shadow can be one-note, and for too long the production never quite embraces the darkness it keeps hinting at. The result is fairly enjoyable, often funny, but a few shades short of the chilling comedy it seems to be reaching for. Those looking for jokes more than jolts may find enough to enjoy, but the shadows never fully gather to make this a ghost story you’ll want to return to.

MACBETH

Wilton’s Music Hall

★★★★

“This is a strong interpretation”

‘Macbeth’ isn’t the obvious choice for a summer open air tour. ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ or ‘Twelfth Night’ are a safer bet. Or even ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Mind you, The Duke’s Theatre Company have done all those in previous years. So, this year they have taken on the foreboding ‘Scottish Play’ that explores the dark side of ambition and power. Visiting stately homes, castles and gardens – including a spell at Cornwall’s famous Minack – it takes brief shelter under the rafters of Wilton’s Music Hall, where it seems perfectly at home, played out against the flaking walls of the venue. It is hard to imagine it beneath picturesque backdrops and sunsets. Ruth Harvey’s atmospheric lighting, with its blood reds, silhouettes, shadows and smoke, belong in the darkness way beyond sundown.

Jessica Curtis’ set places the action on three blackened platforms, precariously held together by scaffolding poles, painted red with scorched tips. Swirls of dry ice create a wasteland, barren and metallic, with little hope of new life flowering between the cracks. We are in Scotland, but we could be in T S Eliot’s world of ‘The Hollow Men’, or any contemporary strip of land torn apart by tyranny. ‘The Scottish Play’, although over four hundred years old now, still resonates with its themes of unfiltered ambition coupled with self-serving disregard for others. A story of self-obsessed decisions in the pursuit of total power. But also, a prophecy – a warning almost.

Some of the message is lost, however, inside the hall’s difficult acoustics. And nearly every word from the three witches is drowned in its pool of effects and reverb, the essence of which needs filling in with our familiarity with the text. Finnbar Hayman’s Macbeth has no problem, though, with his imposing presence. We first see him and Banquo (Edmund Morris) as they claim the stage, dressed in black like riot police. His readiness to believe the witches’ prophecies hints at an unhinged personality beneath his steely exterior, and Hayman plays on this with an originality that sheds new light on his relationship with his wife. Marilyn Nnadebe truly makes Lady Macbeth the villain of the piece – cool and striking but barely hiding layers of menace. The pair’s chemistry is fraught with sexual tension as her increasingly murderous demands send Macbeth into a powerless, almost erotic, frenzy. It is clear who wears the trousers here.

It is a strong, often multi-rolling, cast that deftly reveals the hierarchy of the period. You wouldn’t want to mess with Alasdair James McLaughlin’s dangerous Macduff, yet at the same time you are convinced by his displays of grief. William Marr is equally convincing as Malcolm; initially weak but eventually claiming his rightful place with triumph and a surprising ferocity. Jenni Walker is in fine form in a series of minor roles until she has her moment as the ill-fated Lady Macduff. James Lavender, killed off early as King Duncan, returns as a hilarious and spell binding Porter – the only time the fourth wall is broken as he treats the audience to some much-needed comic relief.

Director Robert Shaw Cameron propels the action with slick scene transitions that often overlap, unravelling the story as briskly as the collapse of Macbeth’s sanity. Rob Millett’s percussive, regimental soundtrack casts ominous threats of violence that march off into the shadows. We get a sense of the expanse of the Scottish Highlands but also the claustrophobia, especially when the scaffolding poles morph into Birnam Wood, like prison bars closing in on Macbeth’s fate. The production can boast high energy, although it often relies on a shoutiness that could do with being reined in. This is a strong interpretation of “Macbeth”. A bold choice for the company that pays off at Wilton’s Music Hall. Let’s hope it can win over the picnicking, sun-drenched audiences scattered around England’s gardens (although, typically, the rain is falling thick and fast now as I am writing this).

THE GRIM

Southwark Playhouse Borough

★★★

“an ambitious piece with a killer concept”

THE GRIM

Southwark Playhouse Borough

Reviewed on 27th November 2025

by Daniel Outis

Photography by Molly Jackson-French

Previously reviewed at Southwark Playhouse venues:

THE GRIM

THE GRIM

THE GRIM

MACBETH

Wilton’s Music Hall

★★★★

“This is a strong interpretation”

MACBETH

Wilton’s Music Hall then UK Tour continues

Reviewed on 29th July 2025

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Lidia Crisafulli

Previously reviewed at this venue:

MACBETH

MACBETH

MACBETH

JOIN US