Simon Ward reviews The Sociable Plover at the Old Red Lion Theatre

The first thing to strike you is the set (designed by Jack Valentine) . The entire room has been transformed into a bird watchers’ hide, with camouflage netting on the walls and a wooden ledge thrust around two sides. As the audience we are effectively looking through the walls of this enclosed, claustrophobic space. It is authentically filthy, from the lewd graffitti on the blackboard to the cigarette ends, lager cans and used condoms scattered around. Thunder rumbles, lightning flashes and rain hammers on the roof. A truly desolate place. Enter Roy (Jack Robertson) in pristine country gear – check shirt and tie, tweed gilet – who proceeds to meticulously, and hilariously, clean up the mess. We soon get the measure of Roy – a geekish obsessive, as particular about grammar as he is about his encyclopedic knowledge of birds, and determined to do whatever it takes to add the Sociable Plover to his sightings notebook.

The grit in the oyster comes in the shape of an intruder (Calum Lill) who stumbles into the hide simply to get out of the storm. He rather unconvincingly calls himself Dave. We are immediately suspicious of him. His cover story makes no sense. He is clearly starving, and seems to have been wandering around for days. When a message comes through from the police on Roy’s walkie-talkie warning of a dangerous criminal on the loose our suspicions seem to be confirmed. Tension mounts as we wonder when Dave will make his move and how on earth Roy may be able to extract himself.

This piece was first performed at the Old Red Lion twenty years ago, and it makes a perfect venue for the revival of a play which is, after all, set in a confined space. Tim Whitnall’s writing is devilishy clever – witty, laugh-out-loud funny, but with the ability to upend our expectations when we least expect it, and to raise the stakes time after time. Director Christa Harris keeps us in suspense throughout, aided by outstanding performances from the two leads. In many ways they are the classic old couple – mismatched in terms of class, accent and interests. Although they don’t become friends, they do come to a kind of understanding, and we perhaps have our own prejudices and assumptions challenged as well.

This is an edge-of-the-seat triumph – with apologies to hardcore twitchers, it is hard to believe that birdwatching could generate so much excitement. Schedule clashes have made me very late to this, so there are only a few dates left. Nevertheless, if you possibly can I would urge you to get a ticket – one of those rare events that remind you of theatre’s unique power to thrill in a digital age.

The Sociable Plover is running at the Old Red Lion Theatre, 418, St John Street, London EC1V 4NJ until Saturday 24th May