DEATH BELLES
Old Red Lion Theatre
★★★½
“Power’s writing is ambitious and lyrical”
In Death Belles, four women open the door to their most harrowing memories – and what steps through is grief, guilt, and a lingering sense of menace. Over 60 minutes, writer Annie Power and director Penny Gkritzapi weave a quartet of dark tales that transform the Old Red Lion’s intimate, minimal stage (set design Constance Comparot) – scattered with rose petals – into a confessional of pain and consequence. Each story explores how trauma can twist the human spirit. The writing asks not only what suffering does to us, but what we might do in return. “How far can a person go when they’ve already been broken?” seems to echo through the piece.
We begin with Poppy (Niamh O’Donnell), who relives the catastrophic Storm Bella and the loss of her parents. Her monologue is vivid and unflinching, filled with contrasting images of the beauty of the Highlands turned graveyard. Beneath the tragedy, it brushes against questions of climate anxiety and the loneliness of survival.
Detective Rose (Harriet Main) follows, trapped in memories of brutal child murders that have left her morally unmoored. The images bleed into her own experience, equally haunting. A missing heart from a murder becomes a metaphor for the missing empathy of a society that fails its children. Her performance, at once precise and unnerving, captures how innocence and evil can share the same face. It’s a chilling portrait of a woman weighed down not only by the horrors her profession demands she witness, but also by the personal guilt that haunts her own past.
Lily (George Bird) brings a welcome change of pace. A football-mad sixteen-year-old with ADHD, she wins over the audience with her humour and restless charm before her story takes a devastating turn. The shift from laughter to disbelief is masterfully handled, and her performance gives the production its most affecting emotional depth.
Finally comes Bella (Finella Waddilove), a mother still searching for her vanished child. Her grief infects the whole village, revealing prejudice and fear simmering beneath polite surfaces. Told with audience engagement, her story resembles a murder-mystery dinner you never expected to be invited to – unsettling, intimate, and quietly accusatory.
The show thrives on atmosphere – the interplay of light and shadow builds visual narratives that deepen the piece, while the rhythm of its language and the physical immediacy of its performers draw the audience directly into the story. Yet the emotional intensity can become relentless. Without moments of reprieve, the production risks overwhelming the audience rather than drawing them deeper in. Lily’s story succeeds precisely because it balances darkness with humanity.
Power’s writing is ambitious and lyrical, and Gkritzapi’s direction embraces its intimacy. The ensemble delivers committed performances that feel raw and lived-in. Still, the evening would benefit from more variation in tone – a chance for the audience to breathe between the storms.
Death Belles is not an easy watch, nor does it intend to be. It’s a meditation on loss, memory, and the quiet violence of carrying what cannot be forgotten. It doesn’t just tell four stories of pain; it reminds us that confession itself can be an act of survival. A demanding but compelling night of theatre that leaves you both unsettled and impressed – even if you occasionally wish it let a little more light in.
DEATH BELLES
Old Red Lion Theatre
Reviewed on 21st October 2025
by Nasia Ntalla
Photography by Dexter Robinson
Previously reviewed at this venue:
FRAT | ★★ | May 2025
EDGING | ★★★ | September 2023
THIS IS NORMAL | ★★★★ | September 2023
REPORT TO AN ACADEMY | ★ | July 2022
TOMORROW MAY BE MY LAST | ★★★★★ | May 2022
