The Sequel

King's Head Theatre

Playing until 2nd May 2026

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Photo credit: Steve Gregson

{PR Gifted ticket}

A literary sensation can do wonders for local tourism. Bath owes a lot to Jane Austen, whose famous works set in the city drive steady pedestrian traffic through a dedicated museum, walking tours, and merchandise. Venture further afield to New Zealand, and you’ll find tourists who’ve travelled from across the globe to visit the rural town that Tolkien’s Shire was based on. In Lucas Closs’s The Sequel, an unnamed English town is still cashing in on a novel that thrust it into the spotlight nine years ago — and for the first time since, author Grace (Nisha Emich) has returned.

The action is set in a cafe-cum-museum dedicated to Grace and her work, where only one singular table remains and figurines of the characters (some plastic, some marzipan) are ready to delight visiting fans — and empty their wallets. The establishment is run by owner Martha (Julia Pilkington) and poetic gardener John (Jim Findley), and they’re determined to give Grace enough inspiration to write another “masterpiece” based on the town.

There’s a sense of offbeat eeriness to the cafe, heightened by the inclusion of live music performed by Composer Deniz Dortok and Lydia Cochrane. This accompaniment frequently adds to the comedy or tension of the scenes. However, in some portions of the play, it appears so sporadically that there could be an argument for it not being needed at all. Peiyao Wang’s set design does wonders for the atmosphere of the piece, with blackened walls and tired furniture conjuring a room stuck in its past.

Closs’s script toes the line between drama and black comedy, and its greatest strengths are personified by Martha’s character. Neurotic and paranoid with a hint of something sinister lurking beneath, Martha gets most of the funniest lines in the play, brought to life by a standout Pilkington. Through awkward stares and monotonous line deliveries, Pilkington is perfectly peculiar and extremely compelling. John is also full of quirks, and Findlay conveys these with great humour while also showing the character’s warmth.

Grace is a slightly tougher character to understand. While Emich is great at showing Grace’s thinly-concealed narcissism, I could never totally grasp whether she was supposed to be a caricature of an uppity artist or a down-to-earth foil for the oddities of John and Martha. I think The Sequel could have afforded to lean into its satire more by turning up the dial on Grace’s self-centeredness.

The Sequel is very funny and poses some interesting questions about art, inspiration, and the connection between people and places. It’s a slightly overlong 80 minutes, but some trimming and stronger characterisation of Grace could make it truly biting.

Creatives

Writer: Lucas Closs

Director: Imy Wyatt Corner

Producer: Ella Carmen Dale

Lighting Designer: Catja Hamilton

Set Designer: Peiyao Wang

Composer and Musician: Deniz Dortok

Musician: Lydia Cochrane