Review: Tuck, Baron’s Court Theatre 

Tuck is a boundary-pushing, genre-bending horror show that leaves its audiences with much food for thought. Utterly unique, this ‘psycho-dream’ play is difficult to describe and even harder to digest. 

The story loosely follows our two protagonists, Jamie (Jack Heffran) and Sophie (Samantha Begeman), as they come back from a first date. Jamie wants to sleep but Sophie is flirtatious, with undertones of instability. Jamie wants gentle intimacy. Sophie is obsessed with her body weight. What starts off as a naturalistic play transforms into a dizzying mixture of drag, poetry, pop culture references, comedy and horror that explores gender and the body.

Director and sound designer Lou Bristow-Bell stages a highly experimental piece of avant-garde theatre that rejects linear narrative and indulges in experimental horror. The start of the play sets the tone immediately. Jump scares seem imminent but never come. Drag characters imitate alternate versions of our protagonists (Lillith Freeman and Matty Rudd), reflecting their own insecurities and fears. The special effects are very impressive for a small production, whether it’s ripping skin off or disappearing down a bed. Abigail Sinclair is fabulous as The Figure, a mysterious yet terrifying character with her face wrapped in clingfilm. All of these result in an unnerving tone that lingers, leaving you on the edge of your seat throughout.

However, it is this experimental form that troubles the audience. Having no linear narrative becomes confusing at points. When we first meet the main characters, they have come home from a first date. Later on, Jamie references Sophie as his fiancée and the timeline becomes confusing. The use of technology is also confounding at times. It starts off by playing into the horror, using a laptop to live stream under a bed – anticipating a jump scare that never arrives. Later on, Sophie reels off a bunch of pop culture meme phrases via lipsync on video, seeming possessed, but this ultimately results in confusion as to what is happening.

The whole play feels like a fever dream, provoking an interesting conversation between audience members post-show. One said “I feel like I’ve taken acid but I’m completely sober.” There was a sentiment of revelling in the ambiguity and wackiness of it all whilst leaving a lot of unanswered questions. It became evident we all craved a bit more clarity from what we had seen; but it’s a difficult ask for any highly experimental piece to give its audience just that. 

Tuck feels more like an experience than a play. Best summarised, it is a hybrid of a horrifying Alice in Wonderland and a drag show that leaves the audience confused, unnerved and excited. I simply can’t stop thinking about it since I watched it, trying to digest it all. It is a promising production that, with a few more tweaks, definitely has a bright future for the niche audience that will also revel in its absurdity.

Director and sound design by Lou Bristow-Bell
Devised and written by The Company 
Lighting Design by Zuzu Cavallero

Tuck has completed its current run.