Review: The Shitheads, Royal Court Theatre

Around 10,000 to 50,000 years ago, Clare (Jacoba Williams) and Greg (Jonny Kahn), two people with very different outlooks on life, meet whilst in pursuit of an elk (a show-stopping puppet designed by Finn Caldwell). In a thrilling and arresting opening scene, they team up to kill it. Their interaction is giddy, both strangers full of wonder at the other. Things abruptly take a turn when Clare kills Greg and eats his brains. Jack Nicholl’s debut play — discovered through the Royal Court’s open script submissions — starts with a bang and continues to surprise until its final scene.

Clare returns home to her family’s cave, where we meet her child-like sister, Lisa (Annabelle Smith) and brooding elderly father, Adrian (Peter Clement’s deliciously menacing Shakespearean patriarch). Adrian believes that the “shitheads” (Greg’s kind) are inferior enemies and that they must be killed. Adrian’s indoctrination of his daughters eventually leads to their demise, which unfolds when Clare brings home Greg’s abandoned mate Danielle (Amy Tredrea) and their baby (another brilliant puppet by Caldwell). What comes next is a tense series of events, fuelled mostly by Adrian’s dangerous hostility towards the strangers and Clare’s misjudged attempts to redeem herself.

Nicholls imaginatively crafts this world with confidence. The script is poetic and thematically rich, with humorous dialogue that cleverly touches on many ideas. It is an unpredictable and exciting 90 minutes. The characters are humanised, revealing our inner animalistic traits and instincts and taking us back to our beginnings. The family’s familiar domestic set-up is a reminder that they are not so different from us, despite their cannibalistic tendencies, of course. Violence and death are normalised and embraced; here, they are a source of bonding for Clare’s family. Lisa plays with Greg’s decapitated head; they all eat out of human skull bowls and recline under bone chandeliers and hanging ornaments. Adrian also teaches Clare how to hunt for food (and “shitheads”). Nicholls highlights that conflict has always existed between humans and how easily ideologies and prejudices can be taught and adopted. Although brutal at times, the script tenderly approaches love and delivers some profound thoughts on family conflict. Pacing wise, the earlier scenes are the strongest and momentum does slow down towards the climax. I did begin to wonder if the runtime is a little longer than necessary.

This world is detailed, from the text and directorial choices (from co-directors David Byrne and Aneesha Srinivasan, who maintain tension and fully lean into the script’s eccentricity) to the production design. Anna Reid’s superb design for the show features a hole and stairway serving as the cave’s entrance, chalky paintings on the cave walls and creatively put-together costumes that mix modern pieces with furs and various textures. Puppetry is an inspired choice and is executed expertly; it visually solidifies the concept, and the puppeteers do brilliant work. The play’s climax is particularly intense, drawn out just enough to bring you to the edge of your seat. It is performed wonderfully all round, featuring searing, tragic performances from Williams’ Clare and Tredrea’s Danielle.

Fizzing with ideas and admirably ambitious, this is an exciting and undoubtedly promising debut from Nicholls. One that shows why it is so important to invest in and nurture early career writers with fresh, bold ideas. A playwright to watch.

Directed by David Byrne and Aneesha Srinivasan
Written by Jack Nicholls
Design by Anna Reid
Puppetry design, direction & movement by Finn Caldwell
Lighting design by Alex Fernandes
Composed & sound design by Asaf Zohar

The Shitheads plays at Royal Court Theatre until Saturday 14 March.