You might meet James anywhere. In a bar, like Suzy (Christina Berriman Dawson) did, or perhaps at a bus stop, like Jen (Eilidh Talman). James is attentive and charming. He tells you that you’re the most amazing woman he has ever met. He is not ashamed to cry, especially when he talks about his kids, and how his ex is stopping him from seeing them.
Before you know it, he’s moved in. Before you know it, you are pregnant. Before you know it, he’s complaining about smears on the work surfaces and accusing you of being unfaithful. Before you know it, you and the children are cowering in a locked bedroom while he threatens you from outside the door.
It is easier to find ways to soothe him, because challenging this man is like prodding a rattlesnake with a stick.
Inspired by the real-life stories of women who have survived coercive or controlling domestic abuse (which only became a crime in 2015), this two-hander by Open Clasp – a remarkable company working with disempowered women – sometimes betrays the fact that it began as part of a training initiative at Durham Constabulary. But it also feels raw and truthful.
Directed by Charlotte Bennett, it is played out in a small, white cube that increasingly seems like a prison. Catrina McHugh’s script is simple, yet not without theatrical sophistication: it gradually becomes apparent how many Suzys and Jens are living with coercive abuse, and how hard it is to prove. All the neighbours think James is a paragon, and even a judge is persuaded by him. After all, James is a pillar of the community.
Berriman Dawson and Talman are terrific, and the production’s song and clapping-style games suggest the emotional pressure faced by the abused women and lend the hour a heightened nervy quality. Like Suzy and Jen, you hold your breath waiting for the snake to strike.
• At Soho theatre, London, until 19 May. Box office: 020-7478 0100. Then touring until 9 June.
