Sam Waite

Difficult to stomach in places, perhaps too politically-minded in some places for some viewers, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo finds a delicate balance between the literal and metaphorical, the factual and the fantastical, and between humanity as we recognise it and the horrors we have all been made to behold. It’s challenging, it’s stirring, and it’s often surprisingly funny – it’s a show about a captive tiger, and about how no one else in that time was ever any less a prisoner.

Sometimes uneven but never dull, The Purists feels truly grounded in its setting, and everyone involved seems to understand the intentions behind McCabe’s words. Perhaps a touch too long and with some fat still to be trimmed, the play touches on important topics with nuance and grace, all mined for great moments by its stellar cast. Its slow build can feel like it takes longer than it ought to, but the power of The Purists’ payoff is undeniable.