Spare Room by Blue Duck Theatre Company Review
Written by Emily K-N for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Blue Duck Theatre Company was created in 2024 by 14 graduates from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. They are dedicated to reviving classics and exposing the unsaid and taboo of society through theatre, with their debut production being Shakespeare’s “As You Like It”. For 2025, the company is hitting the London fringe theatre scene with a piece of new writing.
Spare Room follows 21-year-old Jodie as she moves into a house share. It’s not quite what she had in mind, however, and she learns she’ll be living with four rowdy boys who love to party. If you’ve lived in a house share or student accommodation at any point in your life, there will be characters that will no doubt be familiar to you. Alongside Jodie’s housemates are three girls who appear in smaller roles, including a girlfriend and two love interests. The ensemble of actors play their characters convincingly and brings lots of humour and a sense of banter to the production.
Co-writer Georgina Housby plays Jodie in the production and is watchable throughout. She brings great depth to her character, who starts off not much of a drinker, before succumbing to the constant partying and binge drinking that’s become routine for her housemates. On the surface, Jodie appears to be having fun, but strip that back and it’s clear she’s struggling. This is well depicted in the movement sequences between scenes, where Jodie is centre stage and appears highly intoxicated and overwhelmed.
Whilst Spare Room is a play filled with humorous, lighthearted moments, it deals with important issues around consent and addiction in a way that is sensitive, realistic, and provocative. Things take a shocking turn quite quickly towards the end of the play. It’s revealed that something has happened between Jodie and one of her housemates, which brings up the key topic of consent and is definitely thought-provoking.
Spare Room plays at Hen & Chickens Theatre until 3 August as part of Camden Fringe
★ ★ ★
