Mass at the Donmar Warehouse is one of the most riveting plays London has seen in years

Mass | Donmar Warehouse until 6th June 2026

Four People, a Table: An Unmissable Encounter with the Unimaginable.

Adeel Akhtar and Monica Dolan lead a flawless cast in a play of shattering moral complexity.

Fran Kranz’s debut play, which is also a world premiere, is an extraordinary piece of theatre. Two couples, one whose son was killed in a school shooting and one whose son carried it out, meet in an Episcopal church to attempt restorative justice. It is naturalistic, entirely real-time, with dialogue that demands close listening to piece together every detail.

Kranz adapted Mass from his own 2021 film, a remarkable debut that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, won the Robert Altman Award, and holds a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Directed by Carrie Cracknell, the Donmar Warehouse feels like exactly the right home for it. Trigger warnings are attached due to the subject matter, yet it is handled beautifully and sensitively throughout.

Similar in spirit to James Graham’s Punch, this drama places an almost unimaginable human situation before the audience, compelling them to confront its complexities.

This approach stands in stark contrast to Grace Pervades. In that play, characters divulged information for the audience’s benefit, not each other’s. Here, the naturalistic dialogue demands constant attention to truly grasp the unfolding events. Running one hour and forty-five minutes, the time truly flew by, making it one of the most riveting and moving experiences I’ve had in a long time.

A particularly clever element is the table, which imperceptibly begins to rotate as the arguments develop. This isn’t a political argument about gun control or anything like that. It’s about coming to terms with loss and whether forgiveness is even possible.

The Donmar Warehouse is one of my favourite spaces, and this production uses every inch of that intimacy. The proximity is such that you can hear the actors breathe. Their anger sends shivers because every emotion feels authentic and unforced. Led by BAFTA winner Adeel Akhtar, portraying a man consumed by internal anger, and Olivier-nominated Monica Dolan, who crafts a portrait of sadness stretched to its breaking point, six superb actors bring this drama to life.

Like the recent revival of The Price, the production draws much of its strength from silence, proximity and emotional restraint rather than spectacle.

The play raises questions about loss, guilt and the very possibility of forgiveness, offering no easy answers, a hallmark of the best theatre. What could have been a corny ending, with a choir drifting through from another room as sunlight floods the space, is instead profoundly beautiful.

As with Punch, this production proves that the most difficult subjects can be tackled powerfully when the writing is strong and the acting brilliant. Theatre, in its dramatic exploration, can compel an audience to truly engage with such profound ideas.

I cannot speak more highly of Mass. It is a thrilling, moving and profoundly challenging piece of theatre.

Utterly unmissable.

For more London theatre reviews and cultural criticism, explore EyeOnLondon’s Arts & Culture coverage.

[Image Credit | Richard Hubert Smith]

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