That's what intermissions are for

The view from the Riverside Terrace

It is now a commonly accepted proposition that our characters are formed of a combination of innate traits and acquired characteristics over which we have variable degrees of agency. Frozen, a Fresh Glory Production of Bryony Lavery's masterful play currently on at the Riverside Studios, asks what should be punished as pure evil and what should be treated as illness?

When a pedophile kidnaps and kills her daughter, Nancy's life comes to a standstill, revolving around the possibility that she might still be alive and then the need to confront her killer. All the while Agnetta looks at Ralph as the object that will verify a scientific hypothesis: some people are genetically predisposed to violence and can therefore not be held accountable. First performed in 1998 and then revisited at the National Theatre in 2002, the play deftly explores both the emotional impact of violence as well as the rational explanations, deconstructing dichotomies of good/evil, abused/abuser, rational/emotional.


This production uses spare set, lighting and sound to focus on the writing which seamlessly intersperses the gut wrenching testimonies of loss with the manic delusions of an addled mind and the scientific discourse. Quite a challenge for the actors who nonetheless deliver powerful performances. Jack James is especially potent as Ralph, the psychotic killer who oscillates from moments of pure mania to candid regressions on a troubled childhood.


A bit like a kick in the head that leaves you, once the shock has worn off, with enough material to really think, Frozen is a rare theatre experience. I suggest you visit the lovely Riverside terrace during the intermission just to drink in the sunset with a glass of wine and remind yourself that life is not all horrors... Now that's really what intermissions are for.