As an NSTA representative, I had the privilege of attending The Wasp at Gosfield School on Thursday 27th November 2025, a gripping, expertly delivered production brought to life by the fabulous creative team: Miss D. Duffy, Mrs E. Kurruish, and Miss I. Willson. Their attention to detail, sensitivity to the material, and clear artistic vision resulted in a truly outstanding piece of school theatre.
The Wasp is a psychological thriller play by Olivier award-winning playwright Morgan Lloyd Malcolm about two estranged former classmates, Heather and Carla, who reunite after decades apart. The plot involves one woman confronting the other with a proposition, but the reunion quickly turns dark, unearthing long-buried secrets and a complex, twisting story of power, memory, and revenge. The play was adapted into a 2024 psychological thriller film of the same name, starring Naomie Harris and Natalie Dormer.
This was an excellent production that handled the play’s challenging material with exceptional precision. The pacing was pitch-perfect: slow enough to allow the uneasy atmosphere to swell, yet quick enough to keep the audience alert and fully immersed. The actors delivered remarkably nuanced performances, moving deftly between vulnerability, bitterness, and dark humour. Their chemistry was electric, making every twist and shift in the narrative land with tremendous force. The audience was completely captivated, held firmly by the intensity unfolding on stage.
The simple yet striking set design was utilised with remarkable purpose and skill, allowing the highly charged emotional journey of the play to remain the central focus. Its tight, focused layout reinforced the play’s inherent claustrophobia, heightening the emotional stakes and ensuring that every glance, silence, and shift in tone carried weight. Particularly clever was the use of lighting on the wasp ornament, serving as a constant, quietly ominous reminder of the themes threaded throughout the story.
Isabella gave a truly outstanding performance as Carla. Her control, insight, and powerful stage presence were evident from her very first moments on stage. She embodied the role both vocally and physically with impressive confidence and depth, revealing a detailed understanding of Carla’s complexities. Her rapport with Heather was one of the production’s defining strengths, a dynamic charged with tension, shared history, and emotional volatility. Isabella navigated this relationship with impressive sensitivity, allowing its darker moments to resonate with real impact while also delivering the script’s dark humour with sharp clarity and precision. Her vocal versatility was particularly notable. Isabella varied tone, pace, and intensity with great skill, signalling her character’s internal shifts and buried motives. These choices added significant emotional layers, making her performance engaging and compelling throughout. Physically, every movement felt purposeful and truthful, grounding her character in a way that kept the audience fully immersed in her journey. This was a memorable and captivating performance that showcased Isabella’s exceptional talent, discipline, and stagecraft.
Millie delivered a richly layered and deeply affecting performance as Heather. From the outset, she created a brilliant and believable rapport with Carla, allowing the audience to instantly feel the weight of the characters’ shared and troubled past. The dynamic between the two was tense, complex, and utterly absorbing. Millie portrayed Heather’s initial calm professionalism with outstanding control, giving the character a polished exterior that skilfully masked the turmoil beneath. As the play progressed, she transitioned seamlessly into Heather’s emotional volatility, revealing the cracks and fractures of her past with both strength and vulnerability. The contrast was executed beautifully, giving her performance real dramatic power. Her use of voice and physicality was exceptional. Millie’s vocal choices, from measured gentleness to raw, breaking intensity, highlighted Heather’s internal conflict with striking clarity. Her physical presence was equally expressive: subtle, controlled, and deeply communicative, showing how Heather’s past continues to shape every aspect of her being. Heather is an incredibly complex and demanding character, both manipulator and victim, and Millie embraced every facet with confidence and nuance. The audience remained thoroughly engaged, drawn in by her honesty and the emotional truth she brought to the role.
This production of The Wasp at Gosfield School was a masterfully executed piece of theatre, driven by sharp direction, intelligent design choices, and two exceptional central performances. Both Isabella and Millie delivered work of remarkable maturity and power, making this a truly memorable evening of performance. An outstanding achievement from all involved.
National School Theatre Awards
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