My Child - TNT

The main auditorium has been completely transformed into a multifunction London Underground carriage for Mike Bartlett's 40-minute drama which traps you in the unnamed Man's personal, paternal hell for its short, gruelling duration. Initially, it's impossible to distinguish the actors from the audience, until they suddenly emerge (often for only a few, telling moments) in this searing account of one divorcé's struggle to retain access to his son when his ex-wife decides to write him out of their lives completely. Played with a hard-hitting emotional and physical intensity which had my companion in tears, this is a stunning stage debut — thanks in no small measure to Sacha Wares' taut direction, and mesmerising performances from Lia Williams and Ben Miles as the warring parents, Adam James as his richer, tougher replacement, and Adam Arnold as the spoilt Child at the centre of the battlefield and immersed in an adult world with decidedly skewed values.
Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Sq, SW1, 020-7565 5000). Until June 2