THEATRE REVIEW: Killology ★★★★★

Killology
Royal Court, London
25th May - 24 June 2017

A Father, Son, and the creator of the game Killology stand of the stage, and throughout the running time of 2hr 10mins grip the audience, almost being able to hear a pin drop throughout, when there wasn’t any laughter from the sadistic jokes anyway, and this reviewer left thinking his jaw couldn’t hit the floor anymore with the compelling storytelling that unravelled throughout, as this non-chronological twist-turner kept giving more, never really knowing how the incredible story was going to reach it’s climax with the already chilling end right before the interval.

It’s hard to really give too much detail into the story as it’s best to go in blind, or reading the blurb at the back of the play text as I did when ordering my ticket, but I always feel completely at ease doing this, especially with Royal Court and the incredible calibre of talent that enters the theatre, and Killology really is no exception. At no point throughout did I feel lost, because even through the chop-and-change of scene order came pelting at us from all over throughout, in the end it was like a puzzle, a really grisly one at that, that when pieced together formed an incredible piece of theatre from the whole cast, who were just exception in maintaining focus and driving their characters through their words with such detail and conviction.

Though in hindsight looking back I really notice that not much actually happens in the present storytelling, at least with Davey (Sion Daniel Young), whose journey throughout the production involves a lot of memories throughout growing up, the detail within Craig Owen’s writing is so blindingly brilliant and beautiful that even though these characters, who all remain onstage throughout the production, are placed on an almost bare stage, the imaginative visualisation is second to none as they weave their tales throughout, a prime example being the the park scene with Davey and dog Maisie, probably one of the most traumatic scenes in the production, playing out in my head.

Overall, Killology is a mind-blowing piece of theatre that you really have to go in blind to immerse yourself within the full context of the play. Huge credit must be given to Craig Owen’s incredible talent as a playwright, along with the exceptional gifted cast, which includes Seán Gleeson, Richard Mylan and Sion Daniel Young, in a production which I would highly recommend!

Killology runs at Royal Court until June 20th - to book tickets, click here!