REVIEW: MR. STEVENS @ ARCHES LANE THEATRE

🎭 Mr. Stevens

📍 Arches Lane Theatre, Arches Lane, Nine Elms, London, SW11 8AB

🗓 Monday 3rd November 2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

UNSETTLING AND WITTY

Isabella Garland's new play MR. STEVENS, premiering at the Arches Lane Theatre, is a masterful exercise in tension, discomfort, and controlled suspense. What begins as a seemingly civil gathering in the wake of a teacher's funeral quickly devolves into a gripping and darkly comic dissection of grief, guilt, and buried secrets.

Director Aaron Thakar transforms the space into a pressure cooker, where the aftermath of a beloved teacher's death brings buried secrets to a slow, methodical boil. Full of quiet intensity, Thakar expertly utilises the intimate setting to make the audience feel like an uncomfortable voyeur at a private - and very toxic - wake.

The dialogue is razor-sharp and wickedly funny, and the exceptional ensemble cast truly do it justice. Every menber of this group, from the seemingly supportive colleague to the quietly resentful former student, is perfectly calibrated to build the tension.

There is no single star here. The strength of the piece lies in the collective. As one character after another drops a devastating line with a polite smile, you see the intricate and ugly web of relationships unravel in real time. I sat in mesmerised awe as this talented team of young actors pull back the curtain to reveal simmering resentments and long-held secrets.

The entire company were flawless, but I was particularly blown away by Louise Nicholls whose perfect comedy timing had me in fits of laughter, and Caitlin Florence-Rose who gave fantastic emotional depth to the newly-widowed mother. Isabella Garland let you see below the hard fascade of her character and Ieuan Sion Bradley was magnificently lovable and engaging.

While a truly explosive moment never quite arrives, the build-up of suspence is expertly paced and utterly absorbing. A particular strength is how the play uses the cozy setting of the Arches Lane Theatre to its advantage, ,aking me feel like I was eavesdropping at a wake that had soured just enough to make me desperate to leave - but not before hearing the juicy parts!

The production is not without its minor imperfections. The climax, while impactful, feels a little too contained for the emotional fireworks that have been promised. This left me wishing for a little more consequence for the characters. But this is a minor quibble in an otherwise compelling and well directed piece. The performances are what truly shine, demonstrating a wonderful grasp of the script's dark humour and raw emotional honesty.

Ultimately MR. STEVENS is a smart, unsettling, and thoroughly engaging play that marks Isabella Garland as a writer to watch. It's a testament to the fact that great drama doesn't need a huge stage or elaborate set pieces - just a compelling story, a fantastoc cast, and a brilliant script.

MR. STEVENS continues performances at Arches Lane Theatre until Saturday 8th November. If you want to experience a wonderfully tense evening of psychological games then click here to check availability and book tickets. Just be prepared to leave with a deliciously chilling feeling in your stomach!

Neill Kovacic-Clarke

All views are my own and I pride myself on being honest, fair and free from influence. Theatre is subjective and it is important to remember that all views expressed are just those of one person.

My ticket for this performance of Mr. Stevens was gifted by Parkhouse Theatres who invited me to watch the show in exchange for my honest review. The fact that my ticket was gifted played no part in the content of my review or the star rating given.

CAST LIST:

Louise Nicholls; Jowan Jacobs; Julia-Hetta Johnson; Ieuan Sion Bradley; Isabella Garland; Daniel Metcalfe; Charlie Lacey-Harrison; Caitlin Florence-Rose; Florence Overton; Nico Minott

RUNNING TIME (approx):

1 hour 20 minutes, with no interval

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