Under the Shadow at the Almeida Theatre – review round-up

Under the Shadow – an ambitious adaptation

Set in a Tehran flat during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, Under the Shadow focuses on Shideh, a spirited woman whose dream of a medical career is quashed by the oppressive regime, and her seven-year-old daughter Dorsa. When a missile hits their building, it brings something spookier with it.

It is “a curious play, a blend of the naturalistic and the supernatural that seeks to use the story of a haunting as a metaphor for the effects of political repression and religious extremism,” writes Sarah Crompton (WhatsOnStage, ★★★). And it “could scarcely be timelier,” adds Ryan Gilbey (Guardian, ★★★★). “When Shideh and her neighbours huddle together in their bomb shelter, cursing Europe and the US for abandoning them, this could be a livestream from 2026.”

Some critics are captivated. Under the Shadow “keenly” evokes “the surreal, terrifying ordeal of living in a war zone and the misery of having your life ripped away by forces unknown”, writes Sarah Hemming (Financial Times, ★★★★), while Dominic Cavendish (Telegraph, ★★★★) enjoys its “satisfying adrenal bursts of paranormal activity”. According to Alice Saville (Independent, ★★★★), meanwhile, it is “a pacy, inventive and refreshingly unusual kind of thriller”.

Others, though, are less impressed. It is “oddly flat” for Sam Marlowe (The Stage, ★★) and suffers from “glacial pacing”, “exposition-heavy dialogue” and an “ideologically unsatisfying” ending for Houman Barekat (New York Times). “This is heresy for a theatre devotee,” concludes Nick Curtis (Standard, ★★★), “but maybe just watch the film instead.”

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Under the Shadow – scary or silly?

British-Sudanese director Latif works across theatre and film, and is best known in the former for her acclaimed 2019 production of Jackie Sibblies Drury’s play Fairview at London’s Young Vic. Do the reviewers think she successfully shifts Under the Shadow from screen to stage here? Perhaps most importantly, does she have the critics cowering in their seats?

Some are impressed. Her staging is “technically impressive” according to Curtis, “fluidly directed” according to Gilbey and “beautifully realised” according to Crompton. “It’s also genuinely scary,” she adds. “When things start to go bump in the night and seven-year-old Dorsa begins to communicate with an unseen and malign spirit, the shocks of light and the creaks and inexplicable happenings in the apartment are beautifully conjured by the entire design team.”

“Ben Stones’ design uses the stage effectively, too,” adds Holly O’Mahony (London Theatre, ★★★). “A naturalistic open-plan living space decorated with warm walls and mid-century furnishings centres the drama in the family home, while there’s room at the front for scenes that take place in the bunker, where the residents huddle together during bomb raids.”

Again, though, not all the press are full of praise. Latif’s production is “weirdly lightweight” and “too Halloween fright-night-ish”, reckons Marlowe, while Clive Davis (Times, ★★★) thinks the staging is not “entirely convincing” in its attempts to alarm. “In a vintage year for horror on stage, Latif’s technologically sophisticated production nonetheless falls short of the likes of Paranormal Activity and A Ghost in Your Ear,” chimes Andrzej Lukowski (Time Out, ★★★).

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Under the Shadow – formidable Farzad

Leila Farzad is best known for her BAFTA-nominated role in Lucy Prebble and Billie Piper’s television series I Hate Suzie, but she has extensive experience on stage, too, recently returning from a seven-year theatrical hiatus to appear in Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia at London’s Old Vic.

Her performance here is largely lauded. Her Shideh has “elegant conviction” for Crompton, “frazzled tenacity” for Gilbey and is “quietly persuasive” for Davis, while Hemming describes her as “truculent, grieving” and “consumed by cold rage at what is happening to her life”.

Elsewhere in the ensemble, there is particular praise for Souad Faress and Mona Goodwin as neighbours Mrs Fakur and Mrs Ebrahimi, and for young performer Erin Jemmotte, who played Shideh’s daughter Dorsa on press night. “I’m sure the other two actors who alternate the role are great, too,” writes Lukowski, “but Jemmotte really smashes it.”

And what about the spirit that stalks the production? When its “long-fingered silhouette” suddenly appeared on press night, it had the audience “shrieking in thrilled terror”, writes Barekat. True, adds Hemming, but “when we finally get a proper look” the “spectral, chador-wreathed djinn” is “a little too Fright Night to chill the soul”.

Under the Shadow – the verdict

All the critics admire the Almeida Theatre’s attempt to adapt Anvari’s acclaimed horror movie for the stage, but not everyone is impressed with the execution. Some think Nasr, Latif and Stones’ production offers a brilliant blend of natural and supernatural horror in its tale of an oppressed woman experiencing a haunting in war-torn Tehran. Others are less impressed, finding its spooky special effects less than petrifying.

Under The Shadow gets four stars from the Independent’s Saville, the Telegraph’s Cavendish, WhatsOnStage’s Crompton, the Guardian’s Gilbey and the Financial Times’ Hemming, but only two from The Stage’s Marlowe and three from everyone else, suggesting that this is a divisive drama that stirs some, but leaves others unshaken.