Following my interview with Lisa Faulkner (Allie) last week I was looking forward to this world premiere stage production of the iconic 90s psychological thriller film and book, Single White Female by well-known author, journalist and broadcaster, Rebecca Reid. This is always a difficult task as some of your audiences are going to be fans of a cult movie.
I was impressed by Morgan Large‘s expansive set, portraying Allie’s new apartment. It’s modern, stripped back but the set dressing indicates that this is a home, albeit minimalist. The strips of light around the proscenium arch; repeated in the framing of the set is used as a dramatic tool to indicate changes in the mood of the piece.
There is a warm establishment of Allie and her friend and business partner Graham (Andro) who lives in the same building where the OTT sound of the lift crashes into our consciousness. Graham is lightly sketched leaving Andro to work hard to bring a character for us with whom to engage but he does achieve that. Their business is a tech start-up which brings the action into the modern day. Allie’s ex-husband (Jonny Mcgarrity) is painted as a self-obsessed depreciating loser and villain. He drops the bomb that his girlfriend is pregnant and he’ll not have the same finance available as at present, affecting Allie and her daughter’s financial. Graham suggests she should acquire a lodger and one pops up immediately that she’s advertised on a website.
There’s a lot of humour softening us up for the entrance of Kym Marsh’s Hedy. However, there are previous dramatic ‘snapshots’ featuring Bella and Sam that indicate this is no comedy but pointing to unexplained horrors. These are accompanied by exceptionally loud music and the aforementioned change of lighting. Marsh as Hedy ups the tension ante right from her arrival with tricks, manipulation and lies that make us jump. It’s a powerful, evil portrayal from this established actor on stage, TV and film.
The exceptionally loud music interventions throw an audience off balance but need to be tweaked down a tad in volume in order that they remain shocking but not ear bleeding!
Allie’s daughter Bella is a perfect portrayal by Amy Snudden of your standard nightmare teen. One is prompted to say – “don’t worry Allie, from personal experience, they do get over it in time”. For an actor who is only just stepping out into their profession Snudden more than ably portrays the bullying in person and via social media. In my opinion she has a great future in front of her.
As Hedy spins her evil web the tension builds leading to a shocking discovery from Graham at the end of the first half.
In the second half we are treated to a cacophony of dramatic moments as Faulkner’s Allie’s delightful and delicately played character fights back. Lisa had mentioned, in our interview, that she was rather nervous after 25 years away from treading the boards but in reality, she adequately nailed what she had been given in the script.
Unfortunately, the aforementioned ‘dramatic moments’ at times collapse into the realm of Victorian melodrama and farce. There are tropes from the film that have been honoured which I’m not going to spoil here, but some seem to cross the border into slapstick, for example, one character falling out of a tiny cupboard.
There are small things that irked, one – noticed by a friend and fellow reviewer’s eagle eye – being the Louboutin heels being in a box from another designer. Because the two leads are very different in stature it seems unlikely that they would be able to share the same clothes.
All in all, with a few directorial and script amendments this adaptation could have been a success, and I applaud the attempts to portray the difficult work/family balance that many of us encounter as well as the extremely difficult paths our children have to tread of bullying and social media intervention in their lives.
Theatre Royal Brighton,
New Road, Brighton, BN1 1SD
Friday 9 January to Saturday 17 January 2026
Tickets from £15
https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/single-white-female/theatre-royal-brighton/
2 hours 10 minutes including interval
Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30pm
Thursday at 2.30pm
Saturday 17 January at 2.30pm
Age guidance: 15+ The play contains depictions of violence, online bullying and scenes of a sexual nature.
