REVIEW: THE LADS PLAY at The Hen and Chickens Theatre 4 – 6 August 2026

‘this toxic lads play pans out as a mystery in which secrets are teased out’ ★★★★

Reunions are often fraught with difficulties, often bringing together people whose friendships are broken and relatives who don’t like each other. The Lads Play brings together four childhood friends in a pub, post the funeral of the brother of one of their number. Their heavy drinking is observed and their conversation overheard by the barmaid,  playing a crucial role in calling out the loud and obnoxious behaviour of  Martin, but all is not as it seems.

The play pans out as a kind of mystery, we know some hidden secret between the friends is being teased out, but we have to wait until the end to get the whole story. Along the way, we meet four guys who are all in some sense the victims of toxic masculinity. They don’t talk about personal issues, instead the banter is destructive and cruel. The beers keep coming, throughout the evening, adding to the sense of being out of control and following the rules of laddishness. Everyone must drink pints, and buy a round, or two, or three.

Of course, they aren’t the only victims, and the play aims to show how this behaviour can be dangerous for women, resulting in females not being safe around men. It is a noble ambition and more plays like this could address a social problem, one of blame and one of behaviour.  You have to see the play to fully grasp the issue being raised.

The writing is sharp and the acting is on point. A clever device which tells us more about the characters is the moment when, (spoiler alert), Donnie comes out as gay, when pressed by Martin, eliciting a lot more sympathy from him than he expected. One to one, these same men can show the mettle they are made of, and it is not always as it appears on the surface. Of course, that moment in the play, allows the audience to guess that it is another one of the men (rather than Martin) who is the culprit of the piece.

The production is skilfully performed, with props mainly consisting of beers, in quite large numbers, these are cleverly recycled during a brief scene change, in the blink of an eye.  Some rising of tempers between the characters is handled well by the director, keeping it carefully controlled, it has the look and feel of a long rehearsal period. They are all in command of their material. 

If an evening out with the lads, seems not too attractive, then those quiet moments when some of them revealed more of themselves, are spotlighted.  This lighting effect was much needed to ring the changes and to give more variety to the play which can feel a little one note.  It is a drama with little comedic moments. Could there be more fun moments amongst these mates? Lads have plenty of wise cracks and the ribbing isn’t always toxic, or did I just miss those moments? Yes, I think it needs more comedic moment within the 55 minutes which would give even more of a gut punch to the final scenes. 

THE LADS PLAYS at The Hen and Chickens Theatre 4 – 6 August

Part of Camden Fringe

BOX OFFICE https://camdenfringe.com/events/the-lads-play/

CREATIVE TEAM

Writer / Creator: Tim Charles

Director: Matt Palliser-Kehoe

CAST

(Simon) Brian Raftery, (Martin) Andrew Cusack, (Jake) James Treacy, (Donnie) David Watters, (Susan) Sorcha Morgan

Image: Matt Palliser-Kehoe on the left performing alongside Brian Raftery Right  (Photographer: Zoë Birkbeck)