Find out what critics have had to say about James McDermott’s new play with our review round up…
The Guardian: *** “McDermott captures the peculiar rhythms of lockdown – bursts of activity amid ennui – and the same phrases return spoken in different tones, switching between affection and disgust, yet never quite gaining an accumulative power. Scott Le Crass’s 70-minute, interval-free production has pregnant pauses and – a particularly potent device for Covid drama – pregnant coughs.”
The Spy in the Stalls: *** * “In a little over an hour, a lot is packed into this emotionally raw production. The words crackle with meaning, but so do the silences. “Jab” is a compelling black comedy. I definitely urge you to catch it (words I probably wouldn’t have chosen during the pandemic).”
The Reviews Hub: *** 1/2 “A punchy dark comedy with a twist on a relatable setting, Jab is another of Finborough Theatre’s impressive showings of 2024.”
Theatre Weekly: “In capturing one household’s experience of lockdown, McDermott has successfully captured the mood of the nation. This is an accomplished piece of writing, deftly delivered by the cast and director. This might not be the first play about the pandemic, it certainly won’t be the last, but James McDermott’s Jab is a Covid-era defining play.”
North West End.com: **** “The pandemic stress-tested many relationships as people were forced to isolate together. Here, writer James McDermott explores how a couple’s reality can be turned upside down, their marriage going from one of acceptance to love-hate, through outright loathing and then resolving into a sort-of-love as the situation takes a dramatic turn. With a few humorous moments (who would ever have thought that the mere mention of Barnard Castle would raise a laugh?), Jab is primarily a tragic tale that has the power to resonate with all.”
Fringe Review.co.uk: “It’s a two-hander unlike most others, where tiny scenes explode with meaning, and Jodie Underwood’s lighting rings 30-seocond changes. It’s also where Leah Kelly (making her stage debut as set designer) engages with an elegant minimum: four chairs side by side, unmatched and mobile.”
The Stage: *** “James McDermott explores the pandemic from inside a single festering relationship.”
Lou Reviews: *** “Jab is a play that seeks to make you smile before it swings into hard-hitting mode. You may expect it, but when it comes, it is handled with flair and respect.”
London Theatre1: ***** “Summing up Jab and I have to say I really loved it. It’s a story of ordinary people dealing with themselves and each other during very extraordinary times. Everything about the production worked for me and I very quickly found myself emotionally involved in Anne and Don’s lives so that by the final superbly done scene, there was more than a little tear in my eye.”
Theatre & Tonic: **** “Throughout Jab, part of me started to wonder if it was too soon for productions about Covid. After all, four years isn’t that long and this was the stark reality for so many people. However, we should be keeping peoples’ memory alive as we fight for justice for bereaved families, and I would say that Jab did a great job and evoking those memories and emotions.”
Broadway World: *** “Though the play is important in addressing theatre’s curious reluctance to tackle what lockdown did to us individually and collectively, it sets up too clear a division between its subjects’ worldviews and, hence, too linear a storyline in its second half. The emotions are raw, but only a little shouty and soapy, and many will recognise the stages of a marriage’s disintegration as such things happened long before Covid and will continue to happen long after those long days are forgotten. “
All That Dazzles: **** “Scott Le Crass directs the piece with a tender care and attention to detail as he finds ways to realise McDermott’s writing, keeping the gentle tone while ensuring it packs the powerful punch it requires.”
West End Best Friend: *** “The intimate space of the Finborough Theatre is a perfect capsule for this production which relies so heavily on a sense of grating claustrophobia and eye-twitching tension that will resonate with anyone and everyone who lived through the Covid-19 pandemic. Director Scott Le Crass manages to inject this production, which takes place entirely within the confines of Anne and Don’s living room, with dynamism. The movement onstage becomes increasingly erratic and frantic as Don and Anne’s relationship becomes more overtly toxic.”
Everything Theatre: **** “Jab starts as a comedy, but as the relationship collapses the jokes become fewer until the laughing stops altogether. The audience is silent, pondering what they’re watching, remembering their own feelings about lockdown, wondering at just how little we know and how much would change – or not – because of COVID. McDermott manages to fit the complex emotions that many of us are still trying to process into a deft and memorable 75 minutes, and although it might be too soon and too raw for some, for me it was a timely reminder of the lessons we learned but so easily forget.”
London Pub Theatres: **** 1/2 ” In a breezy 75 minutes, James McDermott reminds us of our own experiences during lockdowns and what we took away from that time – as well as what we lost. The dialogue is crisp. With excellent acting, both performers make you forget you are watching a performance but feels rather like caged animals in a tight space. Fractures in their relationship start to show and things really get dark, with arising animosity mingled with tenderness and regret.”
Jab continues to play at the Finborough Theatre until the 16th March.