★★★½

“a brave piece of theatre”

An Instinct is an inside look into coercive control, manipulation and makes you question everything. Littered with moments of shock, suspense and humour this play really takes you on a journey to an alternate experience of our once lived lockdown days.

Written by Hugo Timbrell, we are transported back to the beginning of COVID, to a cabin in the middle of the woods where we find ex lovers Max (Conor Dumbrell) and Charlie (Ben Norris) who have reunited to face isolation together.

Dumbrell and Norris are great at setting the tone and mood immediately. We see two people figuring out a situation together, but as we are drip fed information, we start to question everything presented to us. As we watch our main characters battle with trust, loyalty and the lack of both, we as an audience also ask the same questions and battle with the reality being played out. By the time our third player, Tom (Joe Walsham) enters the scene – there is a strong desire for the truth amongst the characters and audience alike.

Timbrell has created a brave piece of theatre here. There is a real understanding for how manipulation, gaslighting and passive aggressiveness play out without being biased. You are shown all sides of a story and are left to make your own judgements. He makes large, bold choices in the dynamics of the plot, with light comedy appearing throughout. The writing is very clever, clear and consistent – keeping you hooked in the twists and turns.

An Instinct is a thriller which can sometimes be a tricky genre, especially with the pressure of being able to lure your audience into anticipation ready to be thrilled. There are a couple of jump scare moments that can catch any audience member unaware, and we are pulled into a very unstable environment that is rife with mistrust. However there are also moments where the play runs the risk of being awkward.

The actors do well to sustain character and drive the plot through its highs and lows, but it’s a hard job to keep the suspense of a thriller, especially in theatre without the glitz and glamour of TV and film tricks. This pressure was almost too much for our actors at times. This didn’t take too much away from the play, and didn’t leave a bad taste, in fact it was a fun experience and audiences can take something away from it.

Director Lucy Foster delivered superbly. The transitions, the use of space and blocking of the actors are flawless and really lets us into their world by reinforcing that fourth wall and giving us a real “fly on a wall” experience. The sound (Julian Starr) and lighting (Caelan Oram) really supports the realism of the whole production and all the tricks and effects are used perfectly. Well worth seeing.

MY LIFE AS A COWBOY at the Omnibus Theatre

★★★

“a fun show with witty and laughable moments”

My Life as a Cowboy – by Hugo Timbrell, Directed by Scott Le Crass – follows Conor (Harry Evans): a Seventeen year old lifeguard who dreams of being a Country back up dancer. It’s unclear where those dreams come from, but it’s established that Country music is cool now so of course that’s what he must do – else continue being a ‘loser’. Upon discovering his dream, Conor decides he must perform at the Talent Show of Croydon People’s Day. He seeks the help of best friend Zainab (Nusrath Tapadar) and fellow lifeguard Michael (Callum Broome) to assist him.

I had mixed feelings about the show throughout – on one hand the performances are lovely and it has some funny moments that kept me moderately entertained. On the other hand I felt an overwhelming sense that it lacked depth. The audience is told Conor feels like a ‘loser’, like his life doesn’t contain any purpose greater than himself. A feeling I’m sure we’ve all had at seventeen, but the text doesn’t explore that further. There are details that could suggest deeper reasons as to why Conor would feel isolated and disenfranchised – a young gay teenager with a father who seemingly abandoned him, perhaps? Unfortunately these details are not explored in any way. In fact, he appears a very confident and self assured young man, just with a bit of stage fright. And to be fair, if you were a seventeen year old suddenly deciding you wanted to be a dancer without any prior training or experience, I’m sure you’d have stage fright too. Conor’s confidence and self belief make the idea of him being a ‘loser’ pretty unbelievable.

As a result, I didn’t care for the character. Evans succeeds in playing him well and their comic timing and charming portrayal shines throughout. The standout character for me, however, was actually the ‘anti-hero’ Michael. At first he is unfriendly towards Connor, and doesn’t want to get to know him at work due to his own complexes about being ‘weird’. But while opening up to Connor, we discover Michael’s love for music. But Michael is scared of performing, we actually see his fear of rejection and how it overrides his love of guitar. So when Michael seemingly spoils Conor’s chance at achieving his dream for his own benefit – I’m rooting for Michael not Conor. Broome is fabulous in the role: his performance is witty and he really does steal the stage in every scene he’s in.

The design’s simple yet effective: curtains divide the stage and create different settings. A bedroom contains a single bed and leopard print covers alongside a white wardrobe covered in country music star posters. The bed is used to transition into the swimming pool area using a metal stage. The play transitions between settings between almost every scene, with actors moving the set. This was mostly forgivable but some of the transitions were slow and there was nothing to watch on stage while they happened – apart from Conor changing costume, which felt a little invasive. Costume was also simple but effective; joggers, T-shirts and lifeguard uniforms. Conor also gets to don cowboy attire with a large pink Stetson for a joyous finale of Cowboy dancing, which was the best part of the play.

The sound (Nick Gilbert) was full of country music hits which added to the fun of the show. Lighting (Jodie Underwood) consisted of calming general washes with a lot of warm and pink tones.

Overall it’s a fun show with witty and laughable moments, but sadly feels superficial in its presentation of a ‘teenager finds themself’ story.’

Tag Archives: Hugo Timbrell

AN INSTINCT

★★★½

Old Red Lion Theatre

AN INSTINCT

Old Red Lion Theatre

★★★½

“a brave piece of theatre”

AN INSTINCT

Old Red Lion Theatre

Reviewed on 19th November 2025

by Paige Wilson-Lawrence

Photography by Craig Fuller

Previously reviewed at this venue:

CURATING | ★★ | November 2025

DEATH BELLES | ★★★½ | October 2025

FRAT | ★★ | May 2025

EDGING | ★★★ | September 2023

THIS IS NORMAL | ★★★★ | September 2023

AN INSTINCT

AN INSTINCT

AN INSTINCT

MY LIFE AS A COWBOY

★★★

Omnibus Theatre

MY LIFE AS A COWBOY at the Omnibus Theatre

★★★

“a fun show with witty and laughable moments”