Mosquitoes off to a Flying Start

Ted McGowan as Luke, Ruth Herd as Alice. Photo by Richard Smith Photography.

Mosquitoes by Lucy Kirkwood, directed by Viki Betts at the Loft Theatre, Leamington until 28 September 2024.

Review by Alison Manning.

Mosquitoes by Lucy Kirkwood, currently on at the Loft theatre in Leamington is a complex, thought-provoking production, dealing primarily with the turbulent relationship between two sisters, Alice and Jenny, and their wider family, including their aging mother Karen and Alice’s struggling teenage son Luke, set against the background of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland in 2008 as it is initially switched on.

Throughout the play the science parallels the action. The anticipated impacts, collisions and bringing together of the proton beams in the collider parallel that of the two sisters, who are there for each other in times of need but are vastly different from each other and clash frequently. Alice is a clever scientist based in Geneva, working on the LHC, whereas her sister fears science, sometimes embracing ignorance and superstition, with devastating consequences.

Alice Arthur as Natalie, Ted McGowan as Luke. Photo by Richard Smith Photography.

The aura of science is added to by the actors who play more minor characters, who double as assistant stage managers, completing set changes dressed in white lab coats. The set itself reinforces this, with a large circle on the stage floor, projected with moving specks of light suggestive of colliding particles and scientific symbols.  This science takes centre stage as characters sit and stand within this circle as part of the action. It forms part of Alice's home, as well as Luke’s friend Natalie's house, and other scenes, such as the very first switching on of the LHC itself. Further scientific projections are, at times, displayed on the rear wall of the stage to great effect.

Chris Gilbey-Smith as Boson. Photo by Richard Smith Photography.

Recurrent key themes in Mosquitoes are chaos and disorder and self-destructive tendencies, compounded by the trauma of guilt, mourning, deprivation and damaged relationships. This mirrors the chaos of the particles in the Large Hadron collider, and also parallels with the plot of the breakdown of the collider after just nine days, which is a historical fact. Despite the difficult themes of grief, loss and relationship difficulties, the play is also suffused with many touches of witty humour, and both these aspects are balanced and dealt with well by the proficient cast. 

Leonie Frazier as Jenny, Christopher Bird as Henri. Photo by Richard Smith Photography.

The impacts within the collider are also about a searching for meaning, in particular the hunt for the Higgs boson particle, also known as “the God particle” that could explain how particles gained mass and thus how stars, planets and life itself were formed. Again, this links with Alice’s quaker beliefs and prayers, as well as the interdependence of the characters and how there is a possibility of new starts which can be created through science or mended relationships, and streams of light, or photons, can beam successfully through the darkness.

Mosquitoes is on at the Loft theatre till 28 September. More information and booking details can be found here: https://lofttheatrecompany.com/performance/mosquitoes/