What you need to knowBryony Lavery's new stage thriller The Believers has opened at the Tricycle Theatre, London. Scott Graham, of physical theatre troupe Frantic Assembly, directs the play by Lavery, who is best known for her Tony Award-winning work Frozen.
In The Believers a family are forced to seek refuge with their eerie evangelical neighbours during a flood. The two families share an awkward evening until a shocking event forces them to confront what they truly believe. Runs until 24 May.
What the critics like"This is, surely, British theatre's most electrifying spine-chiller since The Woman in Black," says Kate Bassett in The Times. Staged with breathtaking visuals, this acutely disturbing production is another hit for the Tricycle.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This "deliciously spooky" show is a starkly ethereal theatrical chiller, says Fiona Mountford in the Evening Standard. The stylish and cryptic sound and lighting effects enhance the arresting set and the startling non-verbal sequences created by director/choreographer Graham.
Lavery's "brilliant new drama" is extremely economical and taut as a nerve-string, says Aleks Sierz on The Arts Desk. This is truly great new writing - fast, acutely observed and emotionally truthful - and the pace is thrillingly alive.
What they don't likeIt's spooky stuff, but the production begins at such a level of hysteria that it has nowhere else to go, says Lyn Gardner in The Guardian. "It's more of a theatrical conjuring trick and thriller than a soulful laying bare of mysterious truths."
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
-
Why the Roman Empire is suddenly everywhere onlineThe Explainer It fell more than 1,500 years ago — so why is it dominating social media?
-
How climate change is going to change the insurance industry
The Explainer Some regions will soon be 'uninsurable'
-
TV to watch in October, from 'Loki' to 'The Fall of the House of Usher'
The Explainer Celebrate spooky season with some eerie streaming shows
-
Black Atlantic: Power, People, Resistance review
The Week Recommends Fitzwilliam Museum exhibition features lives affected by the Atlantic slave trade
-
Private Lives review: a 'witty' revival of Noël Coward's classic comedy
The Week Recommends Patricia Hodge and Nigel Havers play the warring exes in this 'delicious retro treat'
-
Wilderness review: a soapy drama set in the American southwest
The Week Recommends Amazon series starring Jenna Coleman and Oliver Jackson-Cohen is 'full of twists'
-
Volkswagen ID.5 review: what the car critics say
Feature The ID.4's 'sportier, more stylish twin' – but 'don't believe the hype'
-
Jamaica Inn review: a small patch of Caribbean heaven
The Week Recommends Guests will feel like one of the family at this boutique beach resort in Ocho Rios
-
Scottish Women Artists review
The Week Recommends Exhibition uncovers the work of female artists long hidden in 'historical obscurity'
-
Dracula: Mina's Reckoning review
The Week Recommends A groundbreaking and distinctively Scottish retelling of Bram Stoker's classic novel
-
Top Boy review: a fitting finale to the gangland drama
The Week Recommends This brilliant show is bowing out at exactly the right time – at the top
