Closet Land contains everything you could expect from a psychological thriller; intense relationships, gratuitous violence and a degree of senselessness in the face of oppression. In this sense it does exactly what it says on the tin and is, unfortunately, entirely predictable.
On the whole the production is excellent. The acting, especially by Adam Scott Taylor is superb. His eerie, menacing exertions of power and impressive physicality add new dimensions to the relationship between his fanaticism and his ward’s confusion. The BT was the perfect setting for the production, claustrophobic and sparse it acted as a canvas for the interplay between the two characters.
However, there was something lacking. I exited the theatre with a vague disinterest rather than relief. I should have exhaled deeply, anxious to get torturous images out of my mind. Yet this was not the case. The production should have been galling, with a burning your eyes out quality. Essentially I was not horrified enough when everything else in the production from the music (which was excellent, Josh Lowe’s score added to an exciting, menacing atmosphere) to the set hinted that horror was in store. Although the production had good qualities, I cannot extol the acting enough, it could have been pushed further and the audience is left expectant rather than sated.
