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The Poltergeist

 
Richard Beck Review by Richard Beck 5 Published: 1 Oct 2025 Arcola Theatre Show Dates: 11 Sep 2025-11 Oct 2025

Take a deep breath. Actually, take several deep breaths, because you’re going to need them. Meanwhile, close your eyes and get pumped up to the disco rhythms of Pet Shop Boys and the voice of Jimmy Somerville proclaiming I Feel Love. There's nothing to see; the stage is bare.

Davison excels in interpreting the part and delivering an astonishing and awe-inspiring performance.

What follows is about language, delivery, and performance; about playwright Philip Ridley, actor Louis Davison, and director Weibke Green — an experienced triumvirate of talent that takes the Arcola Theatre by storm for some 90 minutes or so with The Poltergeist; an exhilarating monodrama of breathtaking intensity.

Davison owns the space from the moment he walks on and surveys the scene, which is his audience. His blue-grey eyes are wide open, and his strikingly shaped eyebrows move up and down, giving expression to his thoughts and emotions. He’s 26, 5'11" (1.80m), with short hair. He looks casually cool, wearing a white t-shirt, an open-fronted short-sleeved beige shirt, black belted trousers, and matching narrow chains around his neck and left wrist. With his presence asserted, he bursts into creating the character of Sasha.

Outward appearances can be deceptive, and beneath the smooth exterior, Sasha is a deeply disturbed individual. At the age of 15, he was hailed as a prodigy by the art world. His works were sought after, and he had high hopes of becoming a superstar. A tragedy turned all that on its head, and now he lives in a run-down flat with Chet, his out-of-work boyfriend, and is unknown.

Reluctantly, they both attend a children's party to celebrate his niece’s birthday. Though not direct family, Chet has less of an issue with it than Sasha. He has to deal with the birthday girl, whom he delights in referring to as “the brat,” his brother, Flynn, with whom he has a strained relationship, and likewise with his sister-in-law, Niamh. The event serves as the catalyst for emotional reflection on a past that haunts him while he angrily deals with the present. At breakneck speed, Davison creates each of these characters and more, each precisely defined with posture, accent, and gesture, as Sasha becomes embroiled in codeine-fueled conversations and commentary. Every inch of space is used under Green’s direction, and Davison exposes Sasha’s tormented condition not just through the agile delivery of the hugely demanding text, but also the energy and vigour with which he moves from one location to the next.

Ridley has created a massively demanding role in Sasha, but as with Joseph Potter three years ago, when the play was performed at the Arcola, Davison excels in interpreting the part and delivering an astonishing, awe-inspiring performance.

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The Blurb:

At 15, Sasha was called an art world prodigy. Celebrities wanted to buy his paintings. His first exhibition was going to make him a superstar.

But now he lives in a run-down flat, with his out-of-work boyfriend, and no one’s even heard of him… What went wrong?

Critics’ Circle Award-winning writer Philip Ridley’s thrilling, darkly comic play, written during lockdown, returns to the Arcola after premiering to critical acclaim in 2022.

Reimagined by original director Wiebke Green, with actor Louis Davison taking the role of Sasha, this is an exhilarating and deeply moving one-man show about family, memory, what it means to be an artist, and being haunted by the life we never lived.

Post-show Q&A with Philip Ridley and Wiebke Green: 6 OctoberFollowing the show on Monday 6 October, playwright Philip Ridley will be in conversation with director Wiebke Green about his life and work, and how he came to write The Poltergeist, followed by audience questions.