Radiant Boy Review: A Haunting Theatre Experience at Southwark Playhouse

Radiant Boy is a haunting exploration of grief, identity and spiritual repression, told through a uniquely northern lens. Bleak yet beautiful, this debut full production from new company Cloudburst is an emotionally resonant piece that rewards stillness and attention.

Nancy Netherwood’s script defies easy categorisation. It is at once a ghost story, a meditation on familial estrangement, a queer coming-of-age narrative and a reckoning with the institutional weight of the church. These threads are delicately interlaced, creating a work that feels grounded in emotional truth while frequently brushing against the supernatural. The dialogue is sharp, often lyrical, and brims with the emotional tension of words left unsaid. That Netherwood has previously been longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting and the Papatango Prize feels entirely fitting.

Photo by Olivia Spencer

Directed by Julia Levai, formerly Director in Residence at the National Theatre in Belgrade, Radiant Boy unfolds with quiet urgency. The pacing is slow by design, mirroring the emotional reticence of its characters. For some, this tempo may prove challenging. But for those willing to sit with it, the payoff is deeply affecting.

The story centres on Russell (Stuart Thompson), a brooding singer returning to his hometown, and Maud (Wendy Nottingham), his tightly wound, emotionally withdrawn mother. Their relationship is at the heart of the play. Thompson brings charisma and complexity to Russell, skilfully navigating the character’s oscillations between sardonic humour and raw vulnerability. Nottingham gives a brittle, nuanced performance as Maud, her carefully composed facade slowly cracking to reveal long-buried wounds.

Ben Allen’s portrayal of Father Miller adds a darker shade to the story. His performance avoids caricature, presenting a man consumed by a conviction that is both magnetic and unsettling. While his presence introduces vital tension, there are moments where his intensity verges on overwhelming the quieter emotional arcs. Renée Lamb delivers a standout turn as Steph, the ethereal and possibly malevolent spirit who haunts Russell. Her voice is breathtaking, her physicality ghostlike, and her presence electrifying. However, there were brief moments when her character’s motivations felt more symbolic than grounded, making emotional connection slightly more difficult.

Photo by Olivia Spencer

The production’s use of music and sound is subtle but powerful. A blend of 1980s new wave, folk motifs and choral textures underscores the narrative with emotional weight. Thompson and Lamb’s vocals elevate several scenes into something otherworldly. Folk duets inspired by Spring Awakening’s “There Once Was a Pirate,” are a particular highlight, adding a layer of musical storytelling that deepens the characters’ bond.

Tomas Palmer’s set recreates a drab 1980s front room with evocative restraint. The thrust staging brings the audience into the intimate claustrophobia of the space, while a looming window, through which Steph watches and lurks, becomes a haunting symbol of memory, longing and control. A brushed gold wall at the rear offers a subtle visual metaphor, blurring reflections and identities as past and present slip between one another.

Radiant Boy is not a perfect production. Its ambiguity and pace may frustrate those expecting narrative clarity or conventional catharsis. Yet this is precisely where its power lies. It refuses to resolve neatly. It allows silence to speak. It trusts its audience to feel, not just follow. In sum, Radiant Boy is a daring and poetic piece of theatre. It lingers, not with volume but with reverberation. Rather than offering answers, it poses questions and invites us to sit with them. For those who embrace its stillness and sorrow, this is a rich and quietly devastating theatrical experience, one that haunts long after the lights come up.

Photo by Olivia Spencer

Radiant Boy is now playing at Southwark Playhouse Borough until 14th June 2025

Tickets available at https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/radiant-boy/