The Loft pulls no punches with Frozen

James Proctor as Ralph Wantage. Photo Richard Smith Photography.

Frozen by Bryony Lavery, at The Loft Theatre, Leamington Spa, from 1 - 11 April 2026. Directed by Dave Crossfield.

Review by Ann Evans

Three talented actors portraying three very diverse characters, set the scene for a story that is every parent’s worst nightmare. The play by Bryony Lavery begins in the 1980s and ends 20 years on. At the start, mother of two young daughters, Nancy Shirley (Cheryl Laverick) is having a pleasant morning pruning plants in her garden. She chats away to herself and the audience, voicing her thoughts about her family, with all the usual light-hearted grumblings about her daughters’ behaviour, perfectly typical for their age of ten for Rhona with Ingred a little older. Rhona’s gone to visit her grandmother. All very normal. There’s just a hint of concern at the end of the scene, when Nancy comes up with an explanation to herself as to why Rhona has not yet come home.

Cheryl Laverick as Nancy Shirley. Photo by Richard Smith Photography.

However, Rhona never even reached her grandmother’s house. The audience know why. The stage is set with two main scenes, Rhona’s bedroom on the left and a prison cell on the right. Before the play started, as the audience took their seats, there was background noise - indistinct talking. Gradually, as we wait for the play to begin, you realise this is the taped recording of a police interview – but we only hear the replies. In between the 'no comments' we pick up on the fact that a man has been accused of child murders, a number of them. Skeletal remains have been found in his shed. He denies everything.

It’s not long before we meet the killer – Ralph Wantage, played very convincingly by James Proctor. It’s prior to his arrest, prior to him bundling little Rhona into his van. He’s at home, we learn all about him as he also talks to himself and the audience. We see the moment that he spots Rhona, we see his demeaner alter to engage the child in conversation. We know his horrific intentions, and we know that Nancy’s hopes for her daughter’s safe return are futile.

L-R: James Proctor, Tracey James and Joanna Stevely. Photo by Richard Smith Photography.

Cheryl Laverick, playing the mother brilliantly portrays the agonies Nancy endures, hoping and praying for her child to return safe. She's frozen in time as days turn into weeks, and weeks turn into years.

There’s a third strand to this play, and that’s the involvement of Agnetha Gottmundsdottir (Tracey James) a psychoanalyst studying the physical brains of serial child killers. She, along with her work partner David Nabkus – who we don’t see but hear the voice of (Luca Catena), have been studying real physical differences between normal people and murderers, and we learn all their conclusions and evidence as Agnetha delivers a talk to other medical professionals.  Convicted child killer Ralph Wantage is one of her case studies.

When Agnetha visits him in his cell, we finally have interaction between the characters, with a guard standing by, played by Joanna Stevely. These scenes are tense – one section is particularly shocking, which brings me to the point of mentioning that this play, is not for the feint hearted, nor anyone offended by strong language, gritty, hard-hitting descriptions and what could be distressing scenes of child sex abuse, murder and suicide.

The killer faces his victim's mother. Photo by Richard Smith Photography.

That said, the acting is excellent – especially James Proctor who plays this heinous child killer brilliantly. For most of the time the audience were spellbound, listening intently to every word, caught up in the emotion of the story. Yet amazingly there was some humour – often some ironic comment that brought about laughter.

Well done to the backstage crew, sound and lighting. The sets worked so effectively, particular the scene in the passenger aircraft, everything about that was so authentic. And of course, the haunting voice of Rhona as she cries for her mother, which breaks your heart when you consider that while this was a fictional scenario, tragically many families go through this torment far too frequently.

Tracey James as Agnetha Gottmundsdottir. Photo by Richard Smith Photography.

It’s a play that will provoke discussion, the questions raised touch on whether the child’s mother can forgive the killer. Twenty years have passed and we learn through Nancy, that her other daughter, now grown up, insists that Nancy forgives the killer - she must if she's ever to move on. And then there’s the conclusions of the ‘experts’ looking into the reasons why these crimes happen – and can the killer help himself? Obviously, the writer has looked into the research by key figures in this field. Agnetha Gottmundsdottir has reached her conclusion, but whether you or I buy into this theory is obviously down to the individual. But one thing is for certain, Frozen by Bryony Lavery currently on at The Loft, Leamington is a play worth seeing. It's brilliantly acted and packed with suspense and emotion.

Discover more at The Loft and to book tickets: https://lofttheatrecompany.com/