REVIEW: THE ISLAND OF MOOR by Candice Mac at The Hope Theatre 24 - 28 March 2026
‘engagingly odd, highly entertaining ’★★★★
No man, said Donne, is an island, and while the Isle of Man literally proves him wrong, the Man in the island in this engagingly odd and highly entertaining show comes closer to proving his point.
The Man (James Lyon, also billed as co-creator of the show) lives alone on his island, in a tent surrounded by his washing and cooking kit and a flock of rubber ducks who are his only companions.What’s happened, how he’s ended up here, what’s going on in the world beyond are elliptically glimpsed as he patrols his space, obeys the orders delivered from a mysterious She and protects his home from the monsters.
The man is, of course, quite mad, and, in a show that cheerfully and successfully breaks many dramatic conventions, remains alone even as he directly engages with his audience to unfold his tale. He is, in fact, an army veteran, and while the phrase post-traumatic stress disorder is never uttered, it hangs in the air as he switches from goofy charm to fear of an island full of noises to bewildered inhabitant of his lonely realm.
It’s a lovely performance from James Lyon, simultaneously unsettling and charming and beautifully paced. The vulnerability of this lonely, damaged man is clear; so, though, is the fact that you’d be moving away from him if he sat next to you on the underground. His devotion to undefinable duty sits gorgeously with his untethering from any objective reality. And it finds light in its darkness; it’s funny.
So, a short, sensitive and humane story that makes an ideal piece of fringe theatre, with several surprises including a twist ending, and, perhaps necessarily, a final brief explanatory coda from an actor coming out of character about the true story on which the story is not based, but which it is inspired by.
THE ISLAND OF MOOR, Written and directed by Candice Mac at The Hope Theatre, Islington, 24 - 28 March 2026
Box Office: https://www.thehopetheatre.com/theislandofmoor
Photography: Isadora Baccon
Reviewer David Weir’s plays include Confessional (Oran Mor, Glasgow) and Better Together (Jack Studio, Brockley, London). His first novel will be published by Allison and Busby in August.
