A formative dark comedy with moments that shine out.Rating
OK
Bron is in love. She’s been in a relationship with David for three and a half months. Every relationship has its challenges, though – the most prominent here being that David is dead. And Bron has never met him.
As part of Write Club 2026, The Hope Theatre’s new writing festival, Deadcrush follows Bron (Maria-Vittoria Albertini Petroni) as she takes the relationship public, exploring themes of illness, loss, and grief. Although some of its elements don’t quite land, this is a play that certainly has legs.
At two points during the play, Bron speaks to people who have recently seen death up close. The experiences have been difficult for them; for one, it brings back the death of her brother. For another, it prompts a broader crisis of faith. Their monologues recounting events are accompanied by excellent physical work from other performers, who contort their way across the stage. Movement director Page Mardell’s work is admirable. These are the play’s strongest points, each meeting a touchstone in Bron’s journey, with the lighting around them also impressive, the speaker held in a tight spotlight and the rest of the stage washed in darker tones.
The physicality of the performers in these more haunting moments is striking, and a sharp contrast to the more literal, mime-like interpretations that are opted for later on. When Bron enters a Parisian hotel, the other two actors become the doors of the room, but the scene would be much stronger without this: she could instead tell the audience what is going on, which is the approach used for the aforementioned monologues.
The balance between tragedy and comedy isn’t quite there, with scenes vacillating from intense emotion to lighthearted japes without a pause, which somewhat undermines the deep sadness of the play and the genuinely interesting and troubling issues it seeks to discuss. The intention of these abrupt shifts is clear, but the execution is slightly off the mark.
At times, the story seems disjointed, similar to the occasionally off-kilter tone changes; it feels like a lot of different ideas and ways of telling the story are being tried out, which will presumably be sorted through as the piece develops. Occasionally, plot points don’t quite make sense, or scenes move clunkily – flaws which will likely be ironed out in future iterations.
There are some truly memorable lines throughout the play, especially when it really leans into its own absurdity. It may mark the first time that an orgasm has ever been compared to a reverse time-lapse video of a rat decomposing, a simile that is hard to forget. Writer and director James Robertson has clearly had a lot of fun, and the script bursts with character.
Also of note is the live violin performance that accompanies the piece, an unexpected and very welcome addition from Grace Brown. Deadcrush is strange, dark, and funny, and despite some stumbles, the core concept is an intriguing one. Once it’s been rejigged a few times, it could really shine.
Writer, Director & Producer: James Robertson
Assistant Director: Santiago Guerra
Movement Director: Page Mardell
Deadcrush has completed its run at The Hope Theatre
