REVIEW: PARLOUR SONG @ GREENWICH THEATRE

🎭 Parlour Song

📍  Greenwich Theatre, Crooms Hill, London, SE10 8ES

🗓 Wednesday 7th May 2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A PAINFUL PEEK BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

Jez Butterworth’s PARLOUR SONG, currently enjoying its first major London revival at Greenwich Theatre, invites us into the seemingly unremarkable world of Ned — a demolition expert whose life is slowly, silently disintegrating. His job is to tear buildings down, but in this story, we learn that it’s his house and marriage that are crumbling under the surface.

Ned and his wife live in a neat house on a new-build estate somewhere on the edge of the countryside. He’s got a job he enjoys, a friendly neighbour, a seemingly perfect life. But he hasn’t slept in six months. His wife, Joy, is distant and accusative. And Ned’s possessions keep going missing from their home.

Naveed Khan is excellent as Ned. His performance is subtle and believable — a man fumbling to hold on to his wife and sense of self while stuck in denial about what’s happening. There’s an early comedy element to the show that had the audience laughing regularly, especially in the scenes where Ned tries to claw his life back together by exercising with his neighbour Dale. But there’s a shift — one that sneaks up on you. The laughs gradually fade as the script becomes more reflective and heartbreaking.

One scene that really stayed with me is when Ned reads from his diary. He recounts sweet, intimate interactions with Joy, full of affection — but they feel completely disconnected from what we’re seeing unfold on stage. It’s painful to witness. You start to realise how deeply he’s clinging to a version of their relationship that no longer exists. Another scene, where he recalls a moment from their honeymoon, hits even harder. It’s hard to hear him speak so lovingly about a time when they were genuinely happy — and to feel just how far away that time now seems.

The set was a real highlight for me. It was a large house-like structure with holes in it, and in each hole was an object. When the characters talked about things that had gone missing, the objects were projected onto the set. At first, I wasn’t sure this was necessary — the writing made it clear what had been lost — but it became a striking visual contrast: between the real, solid items and the versions that were only formed from light. They were there one moment and gone the next, much like the stability in Ned’s world.

The ending did leave me a little confused. I wasn’t sure who was actually present in the house in the final scene, or even what was real. But perhaps that disorientation is intentional. Ned is completely delirious by this point — exhausted, paranoid, unsure where anything or anyone has gone — and we’re made to feel some of that too.

Overall, PARLOUR SONG is a bit of slow burn in places. It dips in pace at times, but it’s rich with symbolism and emotion. What stayed with me most was the reminder that you never really know what’s going on behind closed doors. Things can look picture-perfect on the outside, but beneath the surface, people are falling apart.

Estelle Luck

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 reviewer.  

My ticket for this performance of Parlour Song was gifted by Chloe Nelkin Consulting who invited me to watch the show on behalf of Pink Prince Theatre 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:

Naveed Khan as Ned; Kellie Shirley as Joy; Jeremy Edwards as Dale

RUNNING TIME (approx):

1 hour 30 minutes, with no interval