A series of questions are asked. When one set of questions is dealt with, the printer in the centre of the desk, itself in the centre of the stage, buzzes into life and another set appears. Miss Lady (Anna-Jane MacPherson) and Mister Man (Sam Brenner) introduce themselves to one another with ‘actual’ names, but as these aren’t the character names used in the show’s programme, I shall keep faith with the production and not reveal them here. The context is that they have been invited to participate in a discussion. Presumably, there is some sort of incentive, which explains why they bothered turning up. Any details are not explained by a voiceover or a third party – instead, the audience discovers them in the dialogue. But neither character is clear on the whys and wherefores, so there’s a lot of speculation, and a lot of maybes.
On paper, in this case literally and figuratively, a ‘getting to know you’ session is an effective device to introduce characters to the audience. And indeed, the audience hears stories about, for instance, childhood memories. Miss had one about her father, who attempted to drive his car up a mountain – it is not really a spoiler, in my view, to reveal he did not succeed. Mister doesn’t know what his star sign is because he doesn’t care for that kind of mumbo-jumbo. And so on and so forth.
But it is only in the last few minutes of the show, of ninety, that dramatic tension kicks in. Frankly, until that point, it was like waiting to be seen, for an indeterminate period, in accident and emergency – these might as well have been discussions between people in a waiting room to pass the time, civilised as they were. The exit door, they have been told, is open, so they are free to leave at any time – Miss even demonstrates this, showing that the door is open both ways, exiting and re-entering, as far as I could tell, simply because she could. Some points of discussion are interrupted, either by a sudden dipping of the bright lights in the meeting room, or a noise is emitted. It is never made clear why certain topics are disallowed, other than that the unseen organisers of the discussion have reason to think it is ‘off-topic’.
The play seems to raise more questions than it resolves, and would do well to discuss fewer points in greater depth rather than veering from talking about ancestry search discoveries to how cancer has affected the characters’ families to white supremacy culture to culture in general, and much more besides. A show that seems to be about ‘everything’ had, somewhat ironically, no discernible takeaway messages. Perhaps a series of meetings between Miss and Mister over several weeks or months would help to break up what is essentially one very, very long scene. Some further development is required to make this a fully engaging play.
Review by Chris Omaweng
In the near future, two “compatible” strangers are brought together in a sterile room to talk. Just to talk. But as questions are asked and unseen observers listen in, it becomes clear that the conversation is anything but casual. Why have they been matched? What’s being tested? And what will happen when the talking stops?
Blending tension, humour, and razor-sharp social commentary, Barbary Lion explores identity during political and social crisis, examining what we inherit, what we cling to, and what we choose to leave behind.
Miss Lady – Anna-Jane MacPherson
Mister Man – Sam Brenner
Playwright – Chandler Hubbard
Director – Harrison Hartley
BARBARY LION
Drayton Arms Theatre
29 and 30 January 2026
