Snake in the Grass

Alan Ayckbourn

Theatre Weston,

Theatr Clwyd, Mold

September 18-October 4, 2025; 2hrs 10 mins

(also at Octagon Theatre, Bolton, October 9-25)

Alice (Lisa Zahra) in Snake in the Grass.

Would this play go with a bump, a bang or a flop? Well, definitely not the last of those... The three actors in Snake in the Grass capture the attention of the audience and hold us in suspense to the final curtain. Theatr Clwyd's space for this one is intimate and, with a haunting set and music, creates an intense experience with some dark themes throughout, lightened by lovely, dry humour.

Annabel Chester (Sue Cleaver) returns to her shambolic family garden after the death of her father, still haunted by the violence he inflicted on her. She is a failed business woman with a heart problem, and despite their long separation, her father has left her his estate. She is confronted by her father's former nurse, Alice (Lisa Zahra) who attempts blackmail, as she has witnessed Annabel's sister Miriam (Nicola Stephenson), doctoring her father's medication. Miriam now fears her scheme to kill her abusive father may be uncovered, leaving her facing prison. 

As this web of intrigue unfolds, there are suspicions of ghostly activity surrounding the garden: each of them have to watch their back...

Sue Cleaver is excellent as Annabel, forthright and dismissive at the start, then increasingly vulnerable as the power dynamic shifts away from her. She is subtly manipulated by Alice first, then by Miriam, and becomes quite biddable, doing things she really doesn't want to do. Lisa Zahra is uncompromising and direct, while Nicola Stephenson is initially in a flap, but then schemes her way into control.

The interaction between the three is very cleverly done, thanks to not only Francesca Goodridge's strong direction and an excellent script, but also dramatic music and lighting that is subtle but eerily atmospheric - ready for the sudden bang designed to make us jump.

Snake in the Grass comes, of course, within Ayckbourn's canon of (so far) 91 plays, and there are some familiar themes - in particular a family in crisis, and the absurd situations that ensue. This play is one of three in a series of "Things that go Bump" with Haunting Julia and Love and Beth. It doesn't fight shy of distressing issues, including domestic abuse, illness, alcoholism and phobias, but it covers them without judgment and with slices of great and appropriate humour.

The play has some intriguing twists and turns and has an open, speculative ending. Does everyone get their comeuppance? Watch this riveting, dramatic, challenging three-hander and find out.

More info and tickets here