By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: *****

WHEN?: Monday 20 April, opens 29 April and through 6 June 2026 RUNTIME: 105 minutes (no interval)

It’s just when you think Mass has run its considerable dramatic course that Monica Dolan’s mother Linda re-appears after bidding farewell to unpin an emotional grenade that can’t fail to obliterate the viewer.

• Read on for reasons including how Mass boasts a fantastic cast which gets the most from some difficult emotional material

You join us in a private room at a US church where 2 sets of parents meet to discuss their student sons in an encounter which is both a long time coming and clearly extremely difficult for all involved.

Mass was written by actor Fran Kranz and previously a 2021 film starring Martha Plimpton and Jason Isaacs which won a BAFTA nomination for best supporting actress.

Kranz knows how to write parts that actors can really get their teeth into and allows each of the 4 leads to have their moment. Lyndsey Marshal’s (Force Majeure, Donmar) mother Gail is arguably the most interesting, wracked by indecision yet holding the key to the meeting’s resolution.

Her husband Jay is played by the always excellent Adeel Akhtar (The Cherry Orchard, Donmar) who is occasionally quick to anger and when he raises his voice to a shout in this often whispered company it stops you in your tracks.

Paul Hilton (Juno And The Paycock, Gielgud Theatre) plays husband Richard, a cold businessman forever rushing to meetings on planes, yet painfully aware in forensic detail of exactly why the 2 couples are in this room together.

Dolan won our 2019 Best Theatre Actress monsta for Appropriate at this very venue and dazzles as mother Linda, a woman devastated by her son’s actions and trying to understand why he behaved in the way that he did.

The couples bring photos and possessions of their sons to spark recollections of them but 1 couple is more interested in reminiscing than the other.

Director Carrie Cracknell (Arcadia, Old Vic) occasionally uses a slow revolve to give the audience a better view of all the meeting’s 4 participants as much of the real-time action sees them sat behind a table.

We won’t say much more about the plot which, like the revolve, almost painfully reveals itself slowly yet fully to the audience but it treads similar ground to the recent Olivier Award-winning Punch.

Mass is not treading new ground but boasts a fantastic ensemble cast which gets the most from some extraordinarily difficult and emotional material.

• Main pictures via Facebook courtesy Donmar Warehouse Tickets
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