The Wasp at Southwark Playhouse (Borough) Review
Cassandra Hercules and Serin Ibrahim in ‘The Wasp. Photo: Ross Kernahan
Written by Penny for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review. All views are our own
The Wasp was first staged at Hampstead Theatre in January 2015, before transferring to the Trafalgar Studios in the West End in December of the same year. It was adapted into a film in 2024. This revival is presented by Greenwich Theatre Productions in association with CultureClash Theatre.
It’s a two-hander that sees two childhood friends, Heather and Carla, who haven’t seen each other since school reunited for an awkward meeting in a café. Their lives have taken them in different directions: Heather is a success, Carla not so much. But this encounter has a twist, setting the scene for a dramatic thriller.
Written by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, who won an Olivier Award for Emilia, the text is full of twists and turns – some of them clearly signposted but with enough shocks along the way to keep the audience guessing. As the women’s shared history is revealed, the stakes get higher, with each revelation more shocking than the one before. What initially seems like a classic revenge story becomes one of trauma, violence and the impact of childhood experiences on adult life.
The titular Wasp is a tarantula hawk, displayed on Jana Lakatos’ simple but effective set in a belljar as a part of Heather’s husband’s arachnid and insect collection. It’s a parasite, laying its eggs inside its victim, which on hatching devour their host. Very pleasant then. A metaphor that becomes clear as the action progresses. This is foreshadowed in the play’s first act with flickering lights and a buzzing sound during the women’s initial encounter – slightly irritating at the time but, again, making sense within the full context of the piece.
This new version of the play, directed by James Haddrell, has extended its run time from an hour to 1 hour, 50 minutes, including an interval. The two halves are a little disjointed – the first act’s 35 minutes set things up beautifully, establishing the two women and only hinting at their past relationship. It’s peppered with humour and suggests a straight-forward story. Not all of the choices work. Haddrell has opted to repeat certain snippets of dialogue and whilst this is effective a couple of times, it mostly doesn’t add anything to the plot or our understanding of it and it feels as if they are just there to pad out the running time to justify the interval.
The second act moves from the neutral environment of the women’s coffee shop meeting to Heather’s home and with it, there’s a clear shift in the power dynamic between the two. The plot becomes more far-fetched and there are so many revelations that it becomes a little hard to keep up. One of the women breaks the fourth wall to address the audience towards the end of the play. This is rather out of place in comparison to the very natural dialogue between the two that has gone before, it’s a little self-indulgent, feels more like the writer’s voice than that of a character, and breaks the dramatic tension of the scene.
A play that’s a two-hander leaves the actors nowhere to hide and The Wasp’s slightly OTT plot means that the performances have to be grounded and believable. Playing Carla and Heather, Serin Ibrahim and Cassandra Hercules are very well cast, giving us two very contrasting characters but with a shared past that is clear and credible. Their transition from awkward near-strangers to co-conspirators is well played. Ibrahim’s Carla is street smart, unashamedly herself and with a bravado that makes light of her circumstances. Carla could easily come across as a bit of a caricature but Ibraham gives her some depth and despite what we learn about her, she still manages to retain some sympathy.
Heather has a much more dramatic character arc. At the start, she does not feel like a fully rounded character, Hercules is a little stilted in her delivery, it doesn’t feel natural, it’s a performance. But as with so much in this play, this early presentation of the character soon makes sense, and Hercules is fantastic in the way that she shows this development.
As the play reaches its climax it loses a little of its impact – its ending, whilst a clever twist, is not as big a shock as some we’ve had earlier in the play! The humour that comes out in the first act is very much needed to balance the play’s darker content and there is not much light in the second act to offset the darkness, which can make it a lot to take on board. The extended running time makes the play a little too long to completely hold attention – I would love to see the sharper, original version. That said, if you are prepared to suspend disbelief and just go with the plot and enjoy the two strong performances, it’s an entertaining watch that will keep you guessing to the end.
The Wasp runs at Southwark Playhouse (Borough) until Saturday 30th May. Find out more and book here.
★ ★ ★