★★★★

“smoulders with complexity”

The world premiere of David Pearson’s debut play ‘Firewing’ is a potent slow burn, pushing you to finally see what’s right in front of you. Uncovering the power of connection in breaking self destructive cycles, ‘Firewing’ offers a quietly charged counter to prevailing views on masculinity.

In the middle of nowhere, renowned wildlife photographer Tim is chasing his white whale – the near mythic Firewing. Marcus, his latest rookie apprentice, says he’s here to learn. But both men are hiding something and with nothing but time and open sky, the truth will out.
This debut play from INSPIRE programme graduate, David Pearson, artfully distils the deep tension between self-preservation and transformative change. Focusing on two men who seem worlds apart, Pearson deftly illuminates how much they truly share. Exposing how the seemingly wise can be so blind – especially to themselves – Pearson channels striking depth into a quietly breathing character piece. Beginning in real time, it expands into other moments including a potent flashback which sharpens the men’s parallels – though I’m curious if this could be woven in somehow to keep the present day tension taut. A handful of lines could be trimmed where beats have already landed, however this remains a strong, sharply observed piece.

Director Alice Hamilton, with assistant Yanlin Zhang, lets the piece breathe beautifully. By finely balancing momentum and stillness, it invites us to lean in and catch the unspoken – though a couple of moments could use an extra beat to lift it further into naturalism. The transitions are potential opportunities to involve the actors in the fast forwarding world, but Hamilton’s direction lands with assurance and clarity.

Good Teeth’s design is breathtaking, recreating a lakeside hide complete with water. The manmade structure contrasts spectacularly with prismatic silver strips evoking a birch forest. The design pairs beautifully with Jamie Platt’s stunning lighting, full of gorgeously complex shades of dawn and dusk, with more neutral lighting framing moments of focus. Harry Blake’s sound design is subtle yet vital, immersing you in nature from the start. Costumes, supervised by Sharon Williams, feel naturalistic while quietly highlighting contrasts.

The cast excels at finding light and shade in this finely drawn character study. Gerard Horan’s cantankerous Tim gradually unfurls for the first time in decades, his self-preserving gruffness giving way to tentative vulnerability. Charlie Beck’s wayward Marcus strains between circumstance and the future coming into focus, creating subtle yet unmistakeable tension. Their chemistry shifts with striking clarity, capturing the full spectrum of their connection.

‘Firewing’ smoulders with complexity, drawing hope from the hardest places. It’s a compelling and finely judged debut, marking Pearson as one to watch. See it before it’s gone.

R.O.I (RETURN ON INVESTMENT)

Hampstead Theatre

★★★★

“enough twists to match those of a corporate knife in the back”

There are few tales of corporate hubris to match that of Theranos; how wide-eyed Elizabeth Holmes – now jailed – conned millions from seasoned investors with the promise of a pin-prick diagnosis that never worked.

It was a potent fable of utopian optimism and human greed.

R.O.I. (Return on Investment) follows in that bloodline, but writer Aaron Loeb declares this a post-Theranos piece, not least because the world-changing medical advances of PreCure appear to work.

Loeb himself used to live in the San Francisco Bay area and is a gaming entrepreneur, so he tackles his subject – the hollow twang of venture capitalism – with an authentic curiosity.

The prospect of curing cancer and ending Alzheimer’s may hold the hope of legacy but – as grizzled veteran of the internet boom Paul Melrose declares – “It is never, ever bigger than the money.”

He is mentoring his “work-daughter” and partner May Lee (precision engineered by Millicent Wong) and between them they represent different eras of the tech boom. May has a millennial sense of impact and purpose. Melrose (a charismatic and wry Lloyd Owen) just wants to win. He argues that “the only way to fix this world is to make it profitable to do so”.

PreCure is the brainchild of evangelical Willa McGovern (a wily Letty Thomas) who begins the piece fumbling a set of handwritten pitch cards but quickly has May and Melrose riding on the back of a billion-dollar unicorn.

The scene is set then for a generational battle, about values, about private funds and public health, about the wider purpose of capitalism. But the play fidgets: it doesn’t like these genre restrictions and wants more.

To that end, Willa reveals a much darker side.

With a handbrake screech, she offers some radical views and indulges in some wild conspiracy theories that prove an existential challenge to the three-way relationship.

This reveal demands a leap of faith not only from May and Melrose but from the audience as well. We need to be assured Loeb knows where he’s going with this.

Truth be told, it’s unclear for a time.

Indeed, there is a degree of preposterous overreach in scenes where the threesome reveal dastardly truths about each other during a very public hearing before Congress.

But, ultimately, Loeb lands it, courtesy of a production that is confident, exuberant and packed with ideas. If high stakes corporate skulduggery is your thing, you’ll take it in your stride.

To assist, designer Rosie Elnile has created a slick set with digital backdrops and neat gadgetry, while director Chelsea Walker keeps the pace brisk.

The cast is accomplished, albeit working with characters that function largely as cyphers. The storytelling, however, supplies enough twists to match those of a corporate knife in the back.

Tag Archives: Hampstead Theatre

FIREWING

★★★★

Hampstead Theatre

FIREWING

Hampstead Theatre

★★★★

“smoulders with complexity”

FIREWING

Hampstead Theatre

Reviewed on 27th April 2026

by Hannah Bothelton

Photography by Pamela Raith

FIREWING

FIREWING

FIREWING

R.O.I (RETURN ON INVESTMENT)

★★★★

Hampstead Theatre

R.O.I (RETURN ON INVESTMENT)

Hampstead Theatre

★★★★

“enough twists to match those of a corporate knife in the back”