Ghost from a Perfect Place, Arcola Theatre, London E8

4/5

Travis Flood, ’60s gangster, returns to the East End in London he once controlled. On the look out for sex, Flood rediscovers his past in the form of Torchie Sparks, whose family cinema Flood “protected” back in the “heydays.”

And he also comes across Torchie’s granddaughter Rio Sparks, leader of girl gang The Disciples. 

Such collisions between the past and present and the genders drive this drama of nostalgia by Philip Ridley. 

A dark and intense play, it is claustrophobic and pulls no punches as it raises questions around the female-perpetrated violence which shocked critics watching the original 1994 production, revived here under Russell Bolam’s direction. 

To see women react violently to being treated violently is still viscerally affecting. 

But the play is not just interested in violence itself but the rites surrounding it and Bolam’s production turns Ridley’s language of religion into one of physical ritual. 

Here the cast perform all the various sacraments with a precision that elevates them to the metaphysical, whether that’s the prayer of Saint Donna or the ritual of “a traditional East End cuppa.”

This is also a play about the ways in which nostalgia and fantasy can so easily blur together. The elegiac reminiscences of Torchie and Travis at the play’s opening, with each sucked into the fantasies of the other, is a testament to the power of nostalgia and is thoroughly absorbing. 

Yet it’s destroyed as Florence Hall’s Rio Sparks bursts into the room, crashing the present into the past as she does so.

Ridley’s attention to the sound and rhythm of language is meticulous and the cast spit out stories and threats with a violence that ricochets around the grimy and forebodingly smoke-stained kitchen. 

Overall, there are some strong performances, with Hall, Scarlett Brooks and Rachel Redford all making a formidable impression as The Disciples, with the latter as Miss Kerosene making her “Queen Kong” speech as memorable as her rage is sudden and threatening. 

At times, though, the underlying menace of Michael Feast’s Travis Flood isn’t quite as palpable as the situation might warrant. 

Though a play of its moment, this 20th anniversary revival still speaks to us. It remains a shocking, funny — and beautiful — experience. 

Runs until October 11, box office: arcolatheatre.com

Katherine M Graham