A SPECIAL THEATRE EVENT!

Award-winning playwright Philip Ridley’s two most recent plays, The Poltergeist and Tarantula, played to standing ovations, critical acclaim, and a clutch of OFFIE nominations when they premiered at Arcola Theatre in 2022 and earlier this year. 

Now, these two astonishing plays have been brought together in repertory, re-imagined by their original director Wiebke Green – with a new design – to explore afresh Ridley’s thrilling and darkly comic modern masterpieces.

 

TARANTULA

It’s a sunny, spring day in East London. On a street corner, two teenagers kiss. One of them is Toni. This is her first kiss.

It makes her very happy. But someone is watching. Someone who doesn’t care about her happiness at all. And they’re about to change Toni’s life… forever.

This one woman play is a startling exploration of identity, memory, love, and the lengths it takes someone to free themselves from the web of their past.

Tarantula was first performed by Georgie Henley and directed by Wiebke Green at Southwark Playhouse, London, on 30 April 2021, as a live stream produced by Aria Entertainment. It received its live stage debut, with the same cast and director, as an in-house production at the Arcola Theatre, London, on 5 January 2025.

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Praise for Tarantula

★★★★ “An atom bomb of a play...earth-shattering” – Broadway World

★★★★ “'Wiebke Green's direction induces whiplash...a real achievement” – What's On Stage

★★★★ “An 80 minute masterclass in perfect storytelling...a must see” – The Reviews Hub

★★★★ “Unmissable...Ridley's words explode” – Everything Theatre

★★★★ “Theatre at its most powerful” – Theatre Weekly

★★★★ “Compelling...it lingers with you” – The Stage