Orphans ★★★★ Jermyn Street Theatre | January 5 - 24, 2026


Phillip is an emotionally immature, developmentally challenged recluse, protected and controlled by his impulsive and potentially violent older brother Treat who supports them both by stealing. Together they inhabit a sealed world of rituals, games, and shared fantasy. However, when Treat kidnaps Harold, an apparently wealthy criminal on the run, this act proves far from the solution he expects. Instead, the power dynamic shifts as Harold, himself an orphan, assumes an almost parental role, exposing the brothers to an alternative way of living beyond their self-made confinement. In just two weeks, he becomes a conduit to the outside world and offers the boys a new vision of themselves. Harold’s repeated rendition of “The Prisoner’s Song” underscores the play’s central metaphor of entrapment. Phillip is paralysed by his fear of leaving the apartment, Treat by his reliance on violence and control, and Harold by his desperate attempt to outrun the past. While Lyle Kessler’s dark vision engages themes of dependency, shifting patterns of control, and the need for familial support, its deeper symbolism remains frustratingly unclear. The mannered nature of the play suggests that it aspires to the moral weight of David Mamet or Samuel Beckett, but it never fully achieves their depth, sometimes seeming more pretentious than portentous. That said, the current production is formidable. All three performances are compelling. Fred Woodley Evans brings a quiet intensity to Phillip’s longing, and Chris Walley is genuinely frightening as the volatile Treat. But it is Forbes Masson as Harold who commands the stage. He delivers a darkly charming, enigmatic performance that keeps the audience as unsettled as the brothers themselves. Whatever its flaws, Orphans succeeds as a tense and unsettling piece of theatre that lingers long after the final blackout.

Rated: ★★★★

Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Charlie Flint

When, Where, Getting there:
Map & Location: 16B Jermyn St, London SW1Y 6ST, UK

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