Claustrophobic, Clever, and Chilling: Single White Female Grips Nottingham
Written by Katie Barr
Last night’s performance of Single White Female in Nottingham was a gripping, stylish and often chilling piece of theatre that had the audience on the edge of their seats from the minute it started. Even for someone who has never seen the original 1992 film, this stage adaption stood confidently on its own, delivering a fluid, suspense-filled storyline that was easy to follow, emotionally engaging, and deeply unsettling in all the right ways.
One of the most striking elements of the production was its set design. The entire play unfolded within a single room, yet it never once felt restrictive or repetitive. Instead, the space was transformed scene by scene through subtle shifts in staging, lighting and performance, allowing the audience to move seamlessly between the moments of domestic calm, emotional tension and outright menace. The set-up itself was iconic in its simplicity. Familiar enough to feel safe, but flexible enough to become threatening. This clever use of space mirrored the narrative perfectly, reinforcing the idea that danger does not always come from unfamiliar places, but can grow within the walls we know best.
“…lighting and sound worked as silent storytellers, guiding the audience’s emotional response and amplifying the psychological edge of the production.”
Lighting and sound played a huge role in shaping the atmosphere. The lighting design heightened the drama and suspense, often foreshadowing darker turns in the story before the scripts explicitly revealed them. Shadows were used effectively, creating unease and anticipation, while sharper lighting shifts punctuated moments of confrontation or emotional breakdown. The music underscored the tension beautifully, never overpowering the action but steadily tightening the sense of dread. Together, lighting and sound worked as silent storytellers, guiding the audience’s emotional response and amplifying the psychological edge of the production.
As someone unfamiliar with the original film, going into the play with fresh eyes felt like an advantage. The storyline unfolded clearly and coherently, with enough intrigue to keep me invested throughout. The pacing was generally strong, and the narratives were full of suspense, drawing the audience into the increasingly claustrophobic relationship dynamics at its centre. I never felt lost of confused by the plot itself, which is a testament to the clarity of the adaption.
“Allie’s portrayal captured the exhaustion and emotional fragility of a woman trying to hold her life together, while Hedy’s presence was carefully controlled, initially disarming yet quietly unsettling.”
One of the strongest elements of the performance was the dynamic between Allie and Hedy. Their relationship felt believable from the outset, grounded in warmth, vulnerability and an unspoken tension that slowly intensified. Allie’s portrayal captured the exhaustion and emotional fragility of a woman trying to hold her life together, while Hedy’s presence was carefully controlled, initially disarming yet quietly unsettling. The shifts in power between them were subtle but effective, adding realism to the more heightened psychological moments and making their unravelling relationship the true driving force of the production.
That being said, there were moments where the acting tipped slightly into overstatement. Certain scenes involving raised voices and shouting felt a little too staged, pulling me momentarily out of the realism the production otherwise worked so hard to maintain. However, these moments did still serve a purpose. While occasionally heavy-handed, the heightened delivery undeniably built drama and contributed to the mounting tension, particularly as relationships began to fracture and unravel.
The main structural weakness of the production lay in its build up. From the very beginning, there were clear indicators that Hedy was a character with questionable intentions. While this effectively planted seeds of unease early on, the progression from subtle warning signs to the explosive final revelations felt somewhat rushed. The leap from suspicion to full-blown exposure of her true nature happened quickly, leaving little room for the tension to simmer. A more gradual escalation could have made the final act even more powerful. This may well be a consequence of the production’s length; an additional thirty minutes would have allowed for a more layered and convincing descent, enriching the psychological journey without losing momentum.
The ending itself was both compelling and frustrating. The cliffhanger left the audience wanting more, which speaks volumes about how invested we had become. However it also left a sense of confusion. There was little explanation of what had truly happened in those final moments, and while this ambiguity may have been intentional, it risked undermining the otherwise neatly wrapped primary storyline. The lack of clarity could be read as a deliberate choice to keep the audience questioning, but it did leave a noticeable gap. This feeling was further disrupted by the sudden tonal shift at the curtain call. The immediate introduction of a Lizzo track to bring the cast back on stage felt jarring after such a tense conclusion. A brief pause would have allowed the audience to sit with the suspense and recognise the finality of the story. Instead, the abrupt music cue broke the spell too quickly, slightly diminishing the emotional impact of the ending.
“It was bold, unsettling and thoroughly engaging.”
Despite these criticisms, Single White Female was an outstanding piece of theatre. The performances were strong across the board, the design elements were intelligent and atmospheric, and the story was gripping from start to finish. It was bold, unsettling and thoroughly engaging. Overall, this was a thrilling night at the theatre and a production I would wholeheartedly recommend!
All content is original to The Literary Lounge.
In-article images credited to Chris Bishop. No changes were made to these images.
Featured Image provided by Nottingham Royal Theatre.
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