The horror of war

Almeida Theatre

Horror is all the rage in the world of entertainment. Frightening films dominate the cinema box office and on stage Paranormal Activity and A Ghost in your Ear has been followed by Under The Shadow, a play adapted by Carmen Nasr from a film. The action takes place in Iran during the country’s war with Iraq (although just as relevant today, as many critics pointed out). A mother spends much of the time in a room with her daughter. The fear of bombs is raised to horror level by the presence of a spooky, initially unseen, monster (known as a djin). The performances were praised, especially that of Leila Farzad (‘powerful but understated’ CityAM) in the lead role of Shideh. The critics liked Ben Stones’ claustrophobic set (‘richly detailed’ Financial Times) but many didn’t think the explicit horror in the second act worked in such an intimate venue. The reviews complimented Nadia Latif’s production (‘suspenseful, fluidly directed’ Guardian) but a number said the original film worked better (‘grips you tighter, moves faster’ Sunday Times).

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑

The Telegraph’s Dominic Cavendish wrote: ‘Nadia Latif’s stylish, well-acted production …maximises the thrill of us being in the same space, as lights flicker, furniture moves of its own accord and… what the hell is that claw-fingered creature in black hanging off the wall? At the same time, it doesn’t diminish Shideh as an overwhelmed woman alone, reaping the whirlwind of her non-conformity. The happenings embody forces beyond her control. And the end reflects both hard-won fortitude and a lingering anguish.’

Ryan for The Guardian said: ‘the strength of Nadia Latif’s suspenseful, fluidly directed production lies in its interlocking relationship between action and metaphor. Even as we interpret the djinn as a manifestation of Shideh’s internalised anger from her lifetime of oppression, that doesn’t make it any less terrifying’.

Steve Dineen at CityAM thought: ‘for the most part, this is a taut psychological thriller held together by a string of powerful but understated performances, especially Leila Farzad in the lead and her terrified daughter, with the young Erin Jemmotte (on press night, at least – there’s a rotating cast for the role) trusted to be the emotional crux of the play.’

The Independent’s Alice Saville reported: ‘There’s something so moving and so real about the quiet equations that the structure of this play makes. The forbidding, hate-filled university officials are somehow just as terrifying as the merciless supernatural beings who accost this family at night. And motherhood is a waking nightmare all of its own, as Shideh’s care for Dorsa traps her in terrible danger. This is a pacy, intense, and refreshingly unusual kind of thriller – one that reminds us that the scariest things in life aren’t the ones that go bump in the night.’

The Financial Times’ Sarah Hemming began: ‘It’s unusual to step into London’s Almeida Theatre and see a naturalistic set. Productions often embrace the graceful beauty of the bare brick wall with minimal designs. But Ben Stones, designing for Under the Shadow, gives us a richly detailed interior: an ordinary, middle-class family apartment in Tehran, 1988. And it’s partly in that detail — not just in the set but in the emotionally precise performances — that the power of this piece lies.’

3 stars ⭑⭑⭑

WhatsOnStage’s Sarah Crompton found: ‘There’s something compelling about how unexpectedly Under the Shadow twists and turns, and its portrait of people living with terror has strong contemporary resonance as war once more rips through the Middle East.’ However, ‘As the djinn becomes embodied, the play’s shocks begin to stray into Woman in Black territory, and its shifts in tone become too jarring. It can’t sustain the delicate balance it has created – but it is undoubtedly both original and enjoyable.’

The Standard’s Nick Curtis asked rhetorically: ‘Does the stage adaptation justify itself, though? Yes and no. An Iranian story has been brought to the stage by a British-Lebanese writer and a British-Sudanese director. It works as an effective chiller with some moments of genuine startlement. It also blunts the subtlety of the source material. This is heresy for a theatre devotee but… maybe just watch the film instead.’

Holly O’Mahony for LondonTheatre compared the play unfavourably with the film but liked the set: ‘Ben Stones’s design uses the stage effectively too: a naturalistic open-plan living space decorated with warm walls and midcentury furnishings centres the drama in the family home, while there’s room at the front for scenes that take place in the bunker, where the residents huddle together during bomb raids. As a missile strikes the building’s roof, its smoking girth appears to pierce the top of the stage like a dagger into skin.’

The Times’ Clive Davis concluded: ‘It’s in the use of shock tactics that the drama falls a little short. In a venue as intimate as this, it’s not going to be easy to sustain the illusion that a spectral presence is drifting here and there. Jump scares are used liberally in the second half of the evening, but the results aren’t entirely convincing: some special effects really work best in a multiplex. Still, Nasr succeeds in taking us into an unsettling realm, one where ideology, rather than a ghost, is the enemy.’

2 stars ⭑⭑

The Stage’s Sam Marlowe commented: ‘in a production by Nadia Latif, Carmen Nasr’s adaptation is oddly flat. There’s little atmosphere, either of a city under attack or of a home in the grip of uncanny forces. The build-up lacks tension, so that it feels more humdrum than slow burn. And the shocks and jump scares, when they arrive, often look slightly silly.’

The Sunday Times’ Dominic Maxwell compared it unfavourably to the film: ‘I can see the logic of Nasr’s changes. Mostly though, they lessen tension, spell things out and shine an unwelcome light on how much more cumbersome the grammar of theatre can be than that of film. The film makes its points better, grips you tighter, moves faster.’

Critics’ average rating 3.3⭑

Under The Shadow can be seen at The Almeida Theatre until 4 July 2026. Buy tickets directly from the theatre almeida.co.uk

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