Review: TARANTULA at Southwark Playhouse

In Philip Ridley's new one-woman play, Tarantula, Georgie Henley plays Toni, a sixth former who volunteers at a centre where elderly people have lunch. She meets Michael, who at first comes across more than a little predatory, but the plot quickly becomes very dark, and we are never quite sure what to believe from this solo character.

In Toni's monologues, we are often left uncertain whether we are in the past, the present, or in her imagination. It is an extraordinary, visceral performance from Henley, both physically and vocally, delivered alone from the stage in Southwark Playhouse's Little auditorium. Like Ridley's earlier livestreamed production at the same venue, The Poltergeist, we are watching one person at close quarters creating a picture of many other characters who populate the narrative.

Tarantula is disturbing from the start, with long silences and choreographed red flags in the script. Ridley's turn of phrase is heavily descriptive so whether we are hearing about Michael, Toni's brother Maz or her work-obsessed mother, a diner in McDonald's, or Mrs Triola the former ballroom dancer, they all feel fully formed.

Toni has her first kiss, but events quickly become a living nightmare, and from here we can never really be sure that what we are being told is the truth. These are complicated scenes with many questions left unanswered about who does what to whom and when, and why. The play's title becomes clear as it progresses, but the inclusion of a sparrowhawk in the text begs the question who is the hunter and who the hunted, and telling mention is made of The Talented Mr Ripley.

Some scenes work particularly well, with a definite point where an interval could be placed were one needed in the future. Moments and sentences mirror each other, stories overlap and contradict. Toni's transformation from "a slug next to a gazelle" into an all-day gym bunny feels a little contrived, but then again, this could all be in her head.

Where Tarantula particularly succeeds is in the development of tension and fear and the expression of both. We clock with unease the watcher being watched or try to assemble the pieces of events so catastrophic that they could surely not be shrugged off so easily. I was writing in my notes throughout and asking questions about what I was seeing: a kind of mind-map of "what ifs". The ending may well give a clue to this perplexing puzzle, but I am not entirely sure.

Wiebke Green directs this piece, zooming in where we need to see something up close, pulling back where space is necessary to digest the drama. This is not a play for the faint of heart, but it will reward close attention and leave you playing detective in your own living room.

Tarantula streamed on 30 April and 1 May at Southwark Playhouse.

Photo credit: Ben Hewis

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