Jo Sutherland gives us a rundown of just why this production of Simon Stephens' new play is splitting crowds and stirring stomachs.
Simon Stephens’ Three Kingdoms offers you an experience – albeit a warped one – of England, Estonia and Germany in his three hour-long solemn spiral into the depths of animalistic reckoning. It is in short, a hallucinogenic, brain-liquefying, head-harassing, sensory-stimulating mind-melt.
This grimy, unsettling thriller focuses on two detectives heading a murder case. A victim of sex-trafficking is found washed up in the Thames - well, her head is - and the detectives soon find themselves journeying into the holes that exist beyond their London detention cells; including a German pornographic studio, an Estonian shower room, and several European-esque raves and orgies. In this sense the play offers a characteristically 'Stephens' seal of approval when it comes to graphic depictions of violence and sex, and this new piece is layered with themes of dislocated lust and cultural indifference.
Sebastian Nübling’s direction is raw and primitive – and as Stephens recognises– it's‘alive’. He directs with an astute sense of manic humour and unpredictable playfulness and gives us many unforgettable and super slick moments. Key to this is his excellent cast of actors committed to the text and his risqué direction, which is both physically and mentally challenging. Impressively, the energy never fluctuates, despite lengthy scenes in multiple languages.
What also works in Nübling’s favour is the work of Estonian designer Ene-Liis Semper who works with him to disorientate and disturb. His set allows characters to enter and exit with a crash wearing suits, tracksuits and strap-ons, in a place where wolves emerge from the shadows. Females don fox masks and fur – although ‘foxy lady’ doesn’t spring to mind when you witness their relentless suffering. More fittingly, they are prey. The sound by Lars Wittershagen is also brilliantly atmospheric. His spine-chilling sound effects instigate tinnitus and deep, dirty bass lines shake the audience. However, real-time audio of a murder is a bit too real to stomach.
Still, the sound, design and direction all come together to support Stephens' comments on the animalistic tendencies of mankind and darkness of our world. But it’s not all doom and gloom. There are some genuinely funny moments that take the edge off like the spontaneous and unlikely renditions of The Beatles tracks.
However, where the production excels in aesthetics and imagination, it falters in integrity. Some of the content seems designed to shock and engineered to thrill – rather than naturally evoking such response with the writing which is undeniably shocking anyway. The three hour epic demands attention, but by the second act, I’m flagging. And I’m not alone.
At the risk of sounding immoral, tainted and evil, I enjoyed watching this uniquely violent, inter-cultural spectacle! It allows vivid imagination to transform into a tangible manifestation which is quite addictive and although there are times when the material feels self-indulgent, Three Kingdoms is still insanely brilliant. 
Three Kingdoms runs at Lyric Hammersmith as part of World Stages London until 19th May.
Related Articles:
Brimstone and Treacle at Arcola Theatre
The Conquest of the South Pole at Arcola Theatre
Like our Facebook page
Click here for Theatre in London
Click here for Things to do in London
Add an event
Review: Disgraced at Bush Theatre
Writer Ayad Akhtar is a peculiar tour guide taking us through very familiar territory, intent on showing...