REVIEW: The Void serves up a 'captivating cosmic horror'

A captivating cosmic horror, The Void brings with it fresh and unique ideas of what can be brought to life onstage. Successful horrors aren't always common in theatre, let alone ones set in space! Yet this play challenges those ideas and triumphs.

It's the horrific child of Alien and The Woman in Black, with its eerie atmosphere and extraterrestrial threat. The play sets up its tense atmosphere effectively from the beginning, and the menace creeps through every scene; captivating the audience as the horrifying events unfurl.

Channelling the weight of this are our two main actors: Alex Moran and (writer/director) Ryan Simmons. Both do well to sell the alien environment and the threats that they encounter. Both deliver equally creepy performances to the point that you don't  know which one of them you can trust, keeping the audience on edge as they take us down a rabbit hole of twists and turns.

The Void largely benefits from its great staging and sinister lighting. The play is set in a single location and therefore has to get creative to keep us engaged; it does this beautifully and leads to some frightening and unexpected surprises, such as Ranger Flint's space-walk sequence and (most memorably) the eye gouging scene.

The set itself is beautifully designed and, when combined with the unearthly lighting, it creates a great sense of dread and foreboding, complimenting the themes and performances.

Following on from the play's uniqueness, this is the first time I have seen Artificial Intelligence utilised in a live production. There's lots of controversy around the use of AI in the creative industry, however a small production like this using it for backdrops and space-ship imagery isn't necessarily a bad thing. What took me by surprise was the use of AI to replicate actors. A surprise that I was not a fan of. 

I felt that the scenes that we see AI used, in replace of human actors felt a little cheap. It felt as though we were watching some gripping and well-written scenes being thrown away by a soulless animation. For me, there was an overreliance on the AI which, I felt, was not necessary. 

However the AI aspect does fit the play thematically, I won't spoil the various twists but it does well to create a cyclical structure for the play. The Void tackles interesting ideas that are worryingly relevant to our modern day, a cautionary tale tackling big themes about mega corporations and what they are doing to the planet.

The Void is possibly the most unique play that I have watched onstage. It's gripping, humorous and unafraid of tackling mature topics. The various tension-filled scenes and jumpscares were great and had the audience vaulting out of their seats – myself included!

The Void is on stage at Theatre Royal Windsor until Thursday, October 2.