Review: AN INTERROGATION, Hampstead Theatre

One room, two people. A murder case, as yet unsolved. Jamie Armitage’s An Interrogation takes a simple premise and layers it with questions of gender, class, and responsibility.

As the play begins, Joanna Nelson has been missing for nearly 68 hours. DC Ruth Palmer (Rosie Sheehy) is given her first solo interview, interrogating the man she believes is responsible for the woman's disappearance and potential murder. The man in question is Cameron Andrews (Jamie Ballard), a polished businessman who runs a charity on the side. He doesn’t seem like the type… or does he? Armitage, better known for his directing work on the likes of SIX, uses this set-up to challenge conceptions of gender and gendered violence.

Where Armitage excels is in the way he creates an uneasy, taut atmosphere: the air is heavy with doubt as the play turns into a mind game between characters and audience. Who knows what? Who's telling the truth? Whose side should we be on? This is further intensified by the use of live video, designed by Dan Light. Ostensibly the live feed between the interview room and the other detectives, this is used not only to zoom in on each character’s shifting facial expressions, but also to allow us to see their hands under the table, with small movements giving extra insight into what they might be thinking.

The final ten minutes of the show are where this design choice really comes into its own, thrillingly building up to a very tense ending. Nonetheless, the play’s final reveal feels somewhat anticlimactic: An Interrogation is very much a TV crime drama brought to life on stage, but at no point does it fully become clear what sets this story apart. It feels as though the plot is building up to a bigger twist – a more shocking reveal that would make it clear why this had to be a play. 

Despite this, Sheehy and Ballard both give sharp, nuanced performances, playing off each other well. Sheehy as a younger, female detective delicately navigates the power play at hand, with bursts of pent-up frustration. Ballard perfectly conveys the unsettling balance between menace and charm, keeping audiences on their toes. The rhythm between the pair is a big part of the play’s success, tilting back and forth like a seesaw that never quite rests on one side or the other. 

It seems that what Armitage set out to do with this play was interrogate how gendered violence plays out within the police force, and what kinds of people we expect criminals to be. At some points, there are intriguing, nuanced takes on this, subverting audience expectations, and keeping us guessing. However, the discussion never really reaches as far as it could, with the takeaway seemingly being a rather tepid ‘men are bad’. The portrayal of deeply ingrained, institutional sexism, as well as classism, offers some food for thought, but we are left feeling like there was more to say.

An Interrogation may not quite be the incisive, surprising drama it could have been, but it’s still a compelling, well-structured play that will engage true crime fans and theatre audiences alike. 

An Interrogation runs at Hampstead Theatre (Downstairs) until 22 February.

Cover Image: Marc Brenner

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