The Hungry Ghost at Bush Theatre, London Review
Isabella Wei (Ghost) in 'The Hungry Ghost' at Bush Theatre. Photo by Corinne Cumming.
Mei Leng Yew’s debut play ‘The Hungry Ghost’ uses the folklore of a hungry ghost brilliantly, as a way to talk about control over our own lives and bodies, and the consequences of being denied that control or choice. It’s warm, hilariously funny and heartfelt.
Whilst you will find yourself laughing at every other line in this play, it handles its core emotional story beautifully, finishing with a moving and heartfelt ending. One of those ones which puts the entire story in a new light, making everything else in it even more impactful.
You really will laugh a lot, though. A lot. Ailin Conant’s direction contributes to this hugely, it never misses a comic beat without undermining the sincerity of the characters in the increasingly extreme scenarios the ghost triggers. The balance of sincerity and comedy in this play is what I loved about it; you have so much fun watching it, whilst always being thoroughly invested in the characters.
Mei Mac’s performance as ‘Girl’ is instrumental to this; she not only plays the lead character targeted by the ghost, but also her mother, her girlfriend, her brother, and anyone else she comes across on the way. Each character feels distinct, and the relationships between the girl and the characters are real and complex, which is pretty impressive when we never see any of the others.
Isabella Wei is comedy gold as the ghost. You can’t help but love every time the ghost is onstage; Wei’s facial expressions are absolutely hilarious, with the performance mixing classic horror references with gleeful chaos. When the ‘Girl’’s lines are shared between Mac and Wei, either by speaking at the same time or increasingly by the ghost speaking for the girl, their performances make these switches impressively clear and never difficult to follow.
For all the supernatural moments of the show, it’s fundamentally a show about love, family expectations, and leaving home. Through the story of the ghost, we see how all of the lies in ‘the girl’’s life disintegrate at this turning point, how the hunger makes it impossible to hide anything or to lie to ourselves.
There’s so much I want to tell you about this show, but I can’t without spoiling it, so the solution is simple; you should go see this show. Mei Leng Yew has written a play that deserves a huge audience. You will have a great time, laugh your butt off and then leave a little bit teary. Plus, it’s the spooky month, or so if you’re not going to go see a ghost show, what are you doing?
The Hungry Ghost plays at the Bush Theatre until 31 October 2026.
★★★★★
Written by Bronagh for Theatre and Tonic, October 2026.
