A thriller with a sense of foreboding

An effective, elegantly constructed thriller with a mournful undertow, Mile End got young theatre troupe Analogue noticed at the Edinburgh Festival last year.

The plot is based on the story of Christophe Duclos, who was pushed in front of a Tube train at Mile End station in 2002 by a man with a history of mental illness.

Alex (the Duclos figure) has started to have prophetic nightmares. Among other things, he foresees the death of someone wearing a red scarf. Meanwhile, Michael (played by Liam Jarvis), a twitchy loner, is haunted by a guy who goes up and down the stairs of his apartment block. This turns out to be a figment of his imagination, and Michael is increasingly frightened he might do something bad. Do the fates of Michael and Alex collide, or are they intertwined from the start?

Analogue whisks the audience through the story with menacing precision. Slick puppetry, sliding screens, projections and a terrific sound design all add to the sense of foreboding. The production is packed with ingenious visual touches, such as when red silk unspools from Alex's mouth during a dream sequence. The dialogue is sparse but telling, and sometimes beautiful. And while it could yield more of a sense of loss, it combines terrific pace with moments of stillness.

Until Feb 23, Southwark Playhouse, Shipwright Yard SE1, Mon to Sat 8pm, £7 to £20.
Tel: 0870 060 1761.
www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk
Tube: Borough

Mile End
Southwark Playhouse
Shipwright Yard, corner of Tooley Street and Bermondsey Street, SE1 2TF