An Interrogation at Hampstead Theatre review

This award-winning investigative drama has arrived in London for a 5-week run at the Hampstead Theatre and is already almost sold out. No surprise, as this show sold out even before its opening performance at the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Inspired by real events, this gripping new play is written and directed by  Jamie Armitage (who also co-directed the worldwide phenomenon SIX: The Musical).

The premise is Joanna Nelson has been missing for 68 hours, and with every second that passes, D.C Ruth Palmer’s (Rosie Sheehy) hope of finding her dwindles. She has a suspect for whom she has very limited evidence yet instinctively she is sure he is guilty.

Rosie Sheehy and Jamie Ballard in An Interrogation, Ellie Keel Productions, Hampstead Theatre. Marc Brenner.

There is a brief discussion between Ruth and the senior investigating officer John Culin (Colm Gormley) before the arrival of the suspect to discuss their thoughts and tactics. Ruth appears to want John to remain in the room but through praising Ruth’s skills and reinforcing his confidence in her his leaves her to her first solo interrogation.

The suspect Cameron Andrews (Jaime Ballard) arrives, looking like the least likely person to be linked to this investigation. He reveals his charitable work, his devotion to his mother and he is in fact keen to get back to his mum to finish cooking Sunday dinner. He’s a devoted son, a successful businessman and a respectable member of society. To perhaps inject some audience dislike towards Cameron we find out he lives in Notting Hill and drives a flash Mercedes. He begins just a little too harmless, amenable and helpful. Ruth has a chip on her shoulder about people like this suspect always getting away with their crimes which may sway audience members depending on their own societal prejudices.

We are occasionally reminded of the increasing number of hours the girl has been missing by a projection on the wall allowing the audience to share in the police officer’s urgency in trying to extract any kind of clue that could lead to finding her. All while worrying the suspect may choose to leave at any time, as he has been told he is allowed to do at the beginning of the interview.

Rosie Sheehy and Jamie Ballard in An Interrogation, Ellie Keel Productions, Hampstead Theatre. Marc Brenner.

The conversation meanders from being casual and playing it cool on the premise he is there just for chat. He is put at ease and hopefully a false sense of security will lull him into a place where he will reveal more and perhaps give himself away. But it turns out he is too clever and in a role reversal he attempts to suss her out and get into her head. At which point there is a moment of levity in the play when she is struggling to make progress with the suspect, so she acquiesces to playing the rookie card she had declined to consider earlier from her senor investigating officer. The shifts of power are subtle yet gripping. Both actors give skilled and credible performances as they play psychological games with each other and the air of tension in the room remains throughout the one-hour play.

There is also something extremely satisfying in the simplicity of the staging and costumes by Sarah Mercade. The room is grey, the characters are dressed unremarkably in grey and white neutral colours. The room is as barren and drab as all the interview rooms you will have see on the telly, (Hopefully none of you have actually been inside a police interview room). With only a watercooler and a telephone mounted on the wall and of course a table and two chairs. The setting enables the audience to focus undistracted on every word uttered and every move or twitch that is made and the games they with each other.

Rosie Sheehy and Jamie Ballard in An Interrogation, Ellie Keel Productions, Hampstead Theatre. Marc Brenner.

Occasionally live stream cameras project on the back wall and the audiences gets a bird’s eye view of the room which the other detective is monitoring from a separate space. We also see close ups of their hands resting in their laps under the interview table offering clues as to what is going on under their facades. Ruth’s tell of her tapping finger is revealed and later the suspects hands. I won’t ruin the surprise but at one point there is a very a very unexpected turn of events (under the table) that will have you at the edge of your seat.

An Interrogation is an absorbing, compelling drama that will have you thinking about authority, power dynamics, the tensions around social status, situational manipulation of gender, emotional management, and moral conduct.

Date: 16 January - 22 February 2025. Location: Hampstead Theatre, Downstairs, Eton Avenue NW3 3EU. Duration: 1 hour 10 minutes, no interval. Price: from £28 Concession tickets £10. Age: 14+. hampsteadtheatre.com.

Review by Natascha Milsom