Review Roundup: TARANTULA Opens at Arcola Theatre

Georgie Henley is starring in Tarantula at Arcola Theatre. The monologue from Philip Ridley was first performed online for Southwark Playhouse in 2021, and is now running through 25 January 2025 at Arcola. 

Tarantula is a startling exploration of identity, memory, love, and the lengths it takes someone to free themselves from the web of their past. Centering on Toni, a teenager embarking on her first date and her first ever kiss; a seemingly ordinary life, with the possibilities of youth stretched out ahead of her. But in true Philip Ridley style, there’s a big ‘but then’ moment heading our way, and what follows is a spine-tingling unraveling of fear, guilt and denial in the aftermath of trauma.

Georgie Henley made her stage debut in Philip Ridley’s Angry (2018), and has since starred in the online performance of Tarantula, for which she was directed by Wiebke Green. Henley is again directed by Green, a regular collaborator of Ridley, having also directed The Poltergeist (Southwark Playhouse, Arcola Theatre). See what the critics are saying...

Arifa Akbar, The Guardian: Ridley characteristically combines the comic with the macabre, and his script goes in several unexpected directions. Henley renders even its lesser turns credible and compelling. She combines the naive optimism and gawkiness of adolescence with the churn of dread and danger felt by Toni after the attack.

Rob Warren, Everything Theatre: Henley’s performance and Ridley’s writing are a perfect combination, melded together expertly by Wiebke Green who knows how to draw out the two sides of Toni; having her constantly on the move as an excited teenage, but static when the darkness descends upon her. Henley begins all smiles, cheeky grins and even cheekier asides, whilst Ridley’s words explode from her thick and fast, as if were she to try to stop them they would escape through other means. We laugh with her naturally, never forced. But it’s how Henley traverses from the light to dark that makes her performance one you cannot tear your eyes from, the innocence slowly fading from her eyes to be replaced with the trauma of its loss. The laughter dries up and now must be pried from us, almost unwillingly. If Henley isn’t in consideration for awards come the end of the year then it will be a surprise!

Danai, Theatre and Tonic: I believe that the play, as well as the performance of Georgie Henley, is truly haunting because it manages to get into your mind and stay there for a long time. It was a perfect example of how talent doesn’t need a lot of surrounding effects and impressive scenery to shine, and this definitely applies to all the people involved, who seem incredibly talented and perfectly synchronized in what they set out to accomplish with Tarantula, which is more than a memorable play to watch.

Ben Breen, A Young(ish) Perspective: To hold an audience’s attention for 90 minutes with a single monologue is no mean feat, requiring compelling writing and enrapturing performance. Tarantula adeptly accomplishes both: Philip Ridley’s writing captures the wide-eyed naivety of youth, and the gasping desperation of suffering, with equal dexterity; and Georgie Henley as Toni can tell so much story in a single, flickering facial expression.

Harry Brogan, Harry Theatre Life: Henley’s versatility is undeniable, particularly in her portrayal of Michael, Toni’s love interest, whose awkward sweetness feels heartbreakingly real. Her movement work is outstanding, especially in the gym scene near the play’s end, where her fluidity and physicality create a sense of catharsis. However, some of the multi-roling felt clichéd, with characters distinguished by simple
directional shifts that at times broke the immersion.

Greg Stewart, Theatre Weekly: arantula is haunting and thought-provoking, showcasing what Philip Ridley, and this creative team, are capable of. Wiebke Green has developed an expertise in directing Ridley’s work, and alongside Georgie Henley’s magnificent performance, this is theatre at its most powerful.