Monday 19 December 2011

Haunted Child


TNT

It’s not a ghost that’s upsetting young Thomas in Joe Penhall’s superbly acted three-hander, but the unannounced reappearance of his father, an engineer who vanished without trace.

Now Douglas is back – but he’s a changed man, wild-haired, dishevelled and seduced by a bizarre esoteric cult which (as well as advocating downing a bucketful of salt water to “align the brain waves”) is after his money.

Sophie Okonedo imbues Julie with a troubled warmth as she tries to protect her little boy and win back her husband, a raw Ben Daniels invests Douglas’s extreme mid-life crisis with an evangelical intensity as he loses touch with reality, and Jack Boulter more than holds his own as their vulnerable son fascinated by his dad’s new ways.


Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS Tube: Sloane Square until 14th Jan (£10-£28) royalcourttheatre.com

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