Sting by award winning playwright Sophie Swithanbank follows the story of Ash (Adelle Leonce), who is in a seemingly caring relationship with Dom (Nick Blood). Ash is starting to get back on her feet again and meets Lily (Phoebe Ladenburg) on her first day at work.
Lily is the manager of an archive library, which is piecing together historical records to link female abuse through the ages. Looking at the records of women who had been accused of being witches.
However, as the play unfolds, Lily is asked to help the police with recent cases and link the murders of three young women who have similar characteristics. Dom’s real persona bubbles up to the surface, and Ash realises that she has to find a way out of the relationship and fast.
Swithanbank captures the drip feeding intentions of the controlling narcissist. Pretending to love Ash with meaningless tears and begging, then switching immediately back into the beast that hates you once you let your guard is down and they believe they have regained their control.
Lily is a solid character throughout the play and remains the voice of truth. Although when she tries to report her friends situation to the police she realises how uneducated and unhelpful they can be when dealing with these dangerous and volatile situations. The line one of the police officers said to Lily, “Why doesn’t she just leave?” resonated hard!
Director Nancy Medina brings to the stage a fast-paced and moving play that could be any victim of abuses story. Capturing the high octane energy level of survival mode through Ash’s character that can appear unbalanced and chaotic to the outside world. Each character has been superbly cast, leading to a powerful storyline that will not fail to move audiences.
When I first came across Swithanbanks work at the Finborough Theatre and watched her award winning play Bacon, I knew I was watching a top class writer who pushes boundaries and will leave an audience uncomfortable yet educated and entertained. Sting will verbally and visually “sting” you throughout the play as it tackles the dark and treacherous reality of domestic violence and control.
If you still don’t understand how domestic violence manifests and the behaviour narcissistic perpetrators use, then I highly recommend catching Sting at Young Vic, although I doubt this will be its last staged appearance.
For more information about Sting and future productions at Young Vic. Please use the link below.
Five Stars.
Photo credit Helen Murray.
https://www.youngvic.org/whats-on/sting/
Helplines below for anyone affected by domestic violence.
https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/getting-help-for-domestic-violence/
Theatre, Art and Film Reviews 
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