When a play is adapted for the screen, the story has a range of new tools it can use such as special effects, multiple takes and framing which can see the original blossom into something new. However, when this process is reversed, the language used to tell that story is stripped down to its bare essentials. Such is Let The Right One In, Jack Thorne’s adaptation of John Ajvide Lindquist’s 2004 novel and 2008 film and first seen staged by National Theatre of Scotland in 2012. It is about a twelve-year-old boy, Oskar (Nicky Dune) who falls in love with a young girl Eli (Rachael Dowsett) who just happens to be a vampire. We are told: “She is also twelve years old. She has been that age for over 200 years, and she just moved in next door”. However, the play begins –spoiler alert – in an horrific way with the murder of a drunken man who is then hung upside down whilst his throat is slit. If already you begin to think that this play is not for you then read no further!! There are moments of gore, especially in Act Two, though these are not as horrific as I was prepared for, having read the press release, and, indeed, the play is more about teenage love, relationships, bullying and parenting than it is about being a vampire.
An unusual, controversial, choice then for the National Youth Theatre’s “Rep Company” which is designed to showcase some of the most talented young actors in the company, in this case eighteen of them, who give a rather earnest interpretation of Thorne’s work. James Dacre has inventively directed it on the Boulevard Theatre’s almost-in-the-round stage even if he has been unable to prevent the space looking crowded when everyone is present. His production flows beautifully, making the audience forget that Thorne’s adaptation looks like an adaptation of a movie as it contains many brief scenes which in lesser hands could seem awkward and clumsy. Indeed, there is never a dull moment as Dacre’s pacing is well-nigh perfect and the whole production well drilled.
The ensemble cast works seamlessly together, Rachael Dowsett in particular being outstanding. She has that indefinable quality: stage presence – one has to look at her, and when one looks one sees the detail in her interpretation. Not only does she use her face and eyes very expressively, yet always subtly, her whole physicality is so believable as a twelve-year-old girl who is actually a two-hundred-year-old vampire, and much of what she does is as gruesome as one might expect, yet never too much! She makes much of the, at times, rather stilted dialogue she is given. This is a superb performance, and it would be worth seeing Let The Right One In just for her, were it not for the fact that the other seventeen member of the company also give sterling support! Best of these is Colin Tierney as Hakan, who may be her father! His portrayal is very nuanced and ‘creepy’ from the very start, giving as little as possible away, which is what Lindqvist intended, drawing the audience slowly in and convincing them that vampires are real!
Rhia Burston is particularly convincing as a police officer and Luka Wellman particularly unpleasant as school bully Johan. His nasty elder brother, Jimmy, is even more unpleasant in the hands of Devante Sackitey whilst Michelle Asante slightly underplays the role of Oskar’s drunken Mum.
The climbing frame set has been cleverly designed by Jonathan Fensom to ensure that there are plenty of areas available allowing each scene to meld into another and his costumes are equally successful. Matt Haskins’ lighting design is equally effective, and the fights have been inventively and believable staged by Ruth Cooper-Brown and Rachel Bown-Williams of Rc-Annie. However, as so often these days, Dan Balfour’s music and sound design was used too much and almost took away from some of the most powerful scenes: I dislike being told what I should be thinking by the type of music/sound underscoring being used!
Overall, though, this is a highly successful staging of a difficult piece of theatre, reflecting great credit on all – and the programme lists far too many to be mentioned here! – who have contributed. A fascinating evening, slightly shocking, but not really gruesome! Recommended!
Review by John Groves
An enchanting, brutal vampire myth and coming-of-age love story adapted from the bestselling Swedish novel and award-winning film.
Oskar is a bullied, lonely teenage boy, living with his mother on a housing estate at the edge of town, when a spate of sinister killings rock the neighborhood. Eli is the young girl who has just moved in next door. She doesn’t go to school and never leaves the flat by day. Sensing in each other a kindred spirit, the two become devoted friends. What Oskar doesn’t know is that Eli has been a teenager for a very long time.
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
Underbelly Boulevard Soho
5 to 23 May 2026
