Splendour, Donmar Warehouse ****

Abi Morgan's Splendour is about a journalist who is waiting for an interview with a war-time dictator with the dictator's wife, the wife's best friend, and an interpreter.  Robert Hastie's production of Morgan's play sparkles at times but is very tricky to engage in until late into the play. Morgan writes in a way that feels disjointed and jarring, with characters undercutting each other which is difficult to listen to. However, her writing cuts to the heart when the characters start to reveal the truth about themselves and stop just feeling resentful towards each other. McKintosh's design is beautiful and fascinating, creating a set that shows a world of destruction outside a stronghold that, at a certain moment, is destroyed as well. The four-strong cast give overwhelmingly good performances in an ensemble play. The spiky nature of Genevieve O'Reilly's Kathryn is balanced by the sickly and slimy Micheleine, who is played with ease by Sinead Cusack who controls the audiences sympathy, fluctuating between her role as the wife of a dictator and a helpless mother. Michelle Fairley is great as a timid yet strong best friend Genevieve whilst Zawe Ashton is funny as an interpreter who focuses more on theft than interpreting. They gel perfectly together in a play that requires perfect timing to create real tension. Even if this exquisite production can't always defeat the tricky text, this an example of great female-lead theatre that is much needed in the West End.