Ragdoll at Jermyn Street Theatre Review
Written by Bronagh for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Ragdoll is inspired by the real life experiences of Patty Hearst, an heiress from an influential publishing family who was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, and convicted of bank robbery despite being intimidated and raped by members of the group. Ragdoll follows Holly, our heiress, and her lawyer Robert, travelling between past and present.
We first meet Holly (Abigail Cruttenden) and Robert (Nathaniel Parker) in the present. Holly has asked Holly to visit him in his California home, which she arrives to find all packed up and ready to be sold on. In the middle of the room is a $50,000 sofa bought in the height of Robert’s success. It now lies there unable to be sat on, a ludicrous symbol of wealth diminished to absurdity. The audience is pretty much left in the dark at this point, although it is alluded to that Robert requires a favour of sorts. Cruttenden and Parker excel in their roles, with enjoyable to watch interactions particularly when they do turn on eachother.
A few seconds of rock-y music and cool lighting, designed and composed by Lex Kosanke and Jamie Platt respectively, separates scenes and take us back and forth through time. We then meet Katie Matsell as a young Holly and Ben Lamb as young Robert. Matsell excels as the young heiress, clad in prison issued wear and talking about her own sports car and introducing Robert to the cappuccino. Lamb plays the cool, successful lawyer who goes to parties with Gregory Peck and Truman Capote extremely well, with swagger and confidence.
Ragdoll does a fantastic job of exploring privilege and power to a 1970s background and the relationship between lawyer and client. Holly is, of course, from immense privilege, with her lawsuit making her something of a celebrity. If this a story from the 2000s, I’m sure we would see a mugshot a la Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. However, it is Robert who holds the power between the two. We see him buying Holly Christmas crackers whilst on remand and engaging in very friendly conversation; so friendly that I was sure this could lead to a romantic storyline, which it didn’t. We then see the trust shatter, when Robert turns up hungover to court and Holly finds herself incarcerated in a very powerful moment.
Jermyn Street Theatre is very small, making for a very intimate 75 minutes. There are moments where a cast member, and on one occasion all cast members, ‘watch a television’ keeping eyes focused on the back wall on the theatre. Now if you’ve been in the space, you will understand how close you feel to the cast, let alone in quiet moments like these. Writer Katherine Moar’s debut play Farm Hall started at the Jermyn Street Theatre, and later transferred to the Theatre Royal Haymarket. I would love to see this happen with Ragdoll, perhaps on a larger stage where there is more room to play with the set.
The reason for Robert’s fall from grace becomes apparent and in a remarkable twist, all four cast members are on stage ‘meeting’ and having it out with the younger versions of themselves. Emotions are high, tales intertwining and sense finaly being made, in a gripping last few moments. The past really has caught up with our heiress and hot shot lawyer.
Based on Ragdoll, as I didn’t see Farm Hall, Katherine Moar is absolutely one to watch. Ragdoll is a quick paced, witty and sharp production with a lot packed into 75 minutes without being overwhelming. An excellent cast and a stellar addition to Jermyn Street Theatre’s repertoire.
At the Jermyn Street Theatre until 15th November 2025.
★★★★★
