Batty! is an incredibly charming play. Victoria Firth, as both the writer and the superb central performer, captures the audience’s attention from the very first sentence of Batty! and keeps that attention all the way to the end. What transpires over the next hour, and five minutes are a series of charming interludes between Firth’s Batty and her companion, Wildthing played by Kathryn Hankle. These interludes point to wider themes of women and witchiness, modernity and wilderness. The mix between songs, anecdotes, jokes, and a couple of truly shocking moments. The two strong central performances anchor this play. I was particularly impressed with Hankle’s talent for physical theatre and Firth’s natural charisma. The two performers have natural chemistry and play off each other well and the direction by Natasha Holmes allowed both performers to play off each other.

However, despite the many brilliant jokes in Firth’s writing, structurally this piece had a few problems. The relationship between the characters was not fully developed, so it ended up as a two-hander that felt almost like a one-woman show. Hankle’s Wildthing did not seem to have much of a character herself but existed only as a foil for Batty. If the intention was that Wildthing is a figment of Batty’s psyche, that should have been developed more in the play. There were suggestions that there was something deeper going on between the characters. Moments of friction lead to some of the most gripping scenes in the play, but these elements were left unresolved by the end of the play.

Firth’s writing style made me think of Samuel Beckett. There is something interesting and strange about this play. The rich and wonderful set design by Emma Williams, sound design by Jack Sibley (including original composition and vocals by Eleanor Hooper) and lighting design by Jess Brigham does such a brilliant job of giving shape to this strange place. I wish only that Firth had allowed herself to commit a little bit more to the strangeness and had defined the boundaries of her world a little bit more clearly.

I was impressed with the funny and surprising dialogue. I loved that it asked complex questions in a funny and engaging way. Batty! is fun, clever and has a lot of heart.

Batty! was on at 7pm on the 1st of October at the Sheffield Playhouse as part of the Open Works Festival.

For further information about the tour of Batty! go to – https://www.victoriafirth.co.uk/batty/

Reviewer: Nerissa Monroe

Reviewed: 1st October 2026

Theatre Muse UK Rating: ***