REVIEW: Heist by Joe Wright, Wright Here Productions at Baron’s Court Theatre 5 - 9 August 2025
‘Dublin still has us, doesn’t it? Look at all the good we’ve done!’ ★★★
Joe Wright’s Heist is an exciting and engaging piece that follows two lost voices in a near-future Irish dystopia, and asks us what it means to be a hero in their society.
Planning for a comedically unrealistic and dangerous heist, the KID and Lady B’s actions are presented less as an aimless attack, and more as what they see as a necessity to recover the identity of themselves and of their society; ‘even the good guys have to get their hands dirty sometimes!’
Although these two operate in the future, their natural and easy friendship connects them to the audience. Some of the exchanges between the KID and Lady B are especially well-constructed, and are well-set in the structure. Joe Wright and Ana Canals are fantastically suited to these characters, and have been able to create an engaging duo for their audience.
Running parallel to the show, in short scenes via projector, is Sarah, a character from the present – the beginning of the society we see on stage. Sarah’s problems in society are what the audience can perhaps understand – shortage of employment, food, and isolation, whereas the KID and Lady B operate in a violent foreshadowing of what our/Sarah’s society has the potential to unfold into.
At first, the comedic exchanges of the characters feels somewhat out of place, but this quickly becomes a balanced and comfortable contrast to the projector scenes. The dialogue that opens the play is a little hard to follow, and perhaps could have done with something a little slower-paced to set the scene and context for the audience. The dialogue, while mostly really well-constructed, sometimes loses touch with the action of the play, the characters drifting through a variety of political topics without a real conclusion.
The particularly intimate Baron’s Court space works well for some scenes, those set in smaller hiding spaces, but generally diminishes the ‘in-your-face’ attitude that these characters have from start to finish.
Wright uses a variety of media to his advantage, and uses this as a platform to separate his two timelines, different in attitude, but each uniquely appealing.
Heist plays at the Baron’s Court Theatre until 9th August.
Part of Camden Fringe
Box office https://camdenfringe.com/events/heist/
Seb Gardiner
Seb Gardiner is a playwright living in Reading, having graduated with an undergraduate degree in English in 2023.
