Speak Of The Devil By Elise Simond at The Hope Theatre 13 - 24 October 2026
'Feels like an early draft, albeit one written with intelligence' ★★ ½
As someone who regularly travels between London and Cornwall I was intrigued by the premise of this one act new piece of writing - not least as the most exciting thing that has happened to me on my travels is a bit of celeb spotting (Louis Theroux, Dawn French, Greg Davies amongst others) and playing 'guess how long the delay will be'. For her second play, SouthEast Londoner Elise Simond takes five disparate passengers on board the 9am to Penzance, plunges them into chaotic delay and darkness, throws in a ticket inspector who may or may not the real deal and looks to come up with a commentary on the human condition, how we mix, chat and cope and, fundamentally, what we do in the strangest of circumstances. This is all done through a lens that takes clear inspiration from Tales Of The Unexpected, Inside Number 9 and ghostly tales like The Weir. That Simond largely fails should not in any way take away from both the potential and the ambition - but this was a disappointment.
Despite it being October, the tiny Hope Theatre is hot and steamy on final preview night with the audience sat in close to the actors who are packed in to the 'railway carriage' down the middle of the auditorium. So, we have a mechanic, an actor, a local journalist, a dentist and a young girl trying to get home - all very The Breakfast Club. As the train lurches to a halt - so far, so Great Western - and the somewhat un-hinged inspector offers little by way of real help, the restless passengers start to question and complain about the situation and, slowly, one another. It quickly becomes clear that the world outside is changing - it's getting un-naturally dark and the sea is rising - and whilst the passengers can open a window they can't move to another carriage. As the five engage Simond cleverly gives each of the protagonists their 'moment in the sun' as over the next hour they give up a little bit about themselves which leads to......alas, not quite enough to carry a one hour play.
Simond does write really well - lyrically and with assurance. The problem is that it's all a bit dull. None of the 'stories' told by the five passengers really add to the overall story - they don't illuminate much about their own lives and ultimately the time drags and the audience feels a bit lost. There is no great reveal - apart from the contents of the mechanics work bag - and the open ended denouement is just fine. The inexperienced acting troupe are well rehearsed and are also just fine with nice turns from Richard Dodgson as the slightly pompous actor and Rachel Thornton as a self absorbed journalist. But this is all about the writing. The show has been a few years in the making but still feels like an early draft, albeit one written with intelligence.
So, a bullet train this ain't - more a locomotive slowly pulling out of the sidings. But but but........that Elise Simond has written and directed this with such clear confidence leads me to think and hope that she is absolutely on the right track.
Speak Of The Devil by Elise Simond
Hope Theatre
https://www.thehopetheatre.com
Written & Directed by Elise Simond
Starring Georgina Klovig-Skelton, Rachel Thornton, Richard Dodgson, Ethan Beckley, Tom O'Reilly and Zoe Benefer
