The Wasp review, Hampstead Theatre Downstairs

The Wasp in Morgan Lloyd Malcolm's terrific new play is a reference to the Tarantula Hawk, an insect that 'captures, stings, and paralyses' the tarantula spider, dragging it to a specially prepared nest 'where a single egg is laid on the spider's abdomen and the entrance is covered' (Wiki). Inside the spider, the larvae hatch and feed on the spider's innards, avoiding the vital organs to ensure it remains a living host until they're ready to emerge from its abdomen. Spooky stuff.

The good news is that The Wasp in Lloyd Malcolm's thriller does not so much make your flesh creep as your nerves tingle with delight. The action centres on the gravelly Heather, resplendent in designer reds, reeling in her old playground adversary, Carla. Carla's a bit of rough, married to a man thirty years older and pregnant with her fifth child. As the conversation twists around and probes historic cruelty, who's the goodie and who the baddie? Where is this unexpected negotiation taking us?

It would spoil the gobsmacking ending to give anything away. Suffice to say the dialogue is laced with black humour, wit and pathos and the performances are cracking. Brilliant Sinead Matthews punches above her weight as the scheming Heather, threading her way across a highly charged and blighted landscape with a voice that's a mixture of treacle and sand. Rough and downtrodden Carla can't decide if she wants in or out of Heather's game. As Carla, Downton's Myanna Buring manages a difficult role beautifully.

In conclusion: Tom Attenborough directs a tense 90 minutes in Hampstead's intimate downstairs space. There's a lot of dialogue to facilitate the shifts in power and mood but it lifts enough to keep you watching and the dark, utterly unexpected resolution, is just perfect. Lloyd Malcolm's last play, Belongings, was a jewel about a woman soldier. This is a totally different ticket, but at £12 it will be a hot one.

References
Hampstead Theatre, Tickets

Hampstead Theatre, Eton Avenue, London NW3 3EU.  Run ends 7 March