The Fastest Clock in the Universe by Philip Ridley, The Studio, New Wimbledon Theatre, 93 Broadway, Wimbledon | until 9 May 2026 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review by William Russell

Photo credit: Amy Wicks Young

The Fastest Clock in the Universe

by Philip Ridley

The Studio, New Wimbledon Theatre, 93 Broadway, Wimbledon | until 9 May 2026

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review by William Russell

“The cast rise to the demands placed on them effectively, and Ridley's pot certainly bubbles away in gruesome style.”

Brittany Rex's production of this 1992 play by Philip Ridley is deftly done, well performed and is an evening you either enjoy or prefer to forget. When the play originally opened at Hampstead in 1992 it was dismissed by some as nasty and unpleasant. Bur Ridley is always challenging and his revival, the first in a decade, has been doing the rounds with some success. Captain Tock (Brian Aris) and his lover Cougar Glass (Frederick Russell) are preparing to celebrate the latter's 19th birthday although Cougar is rather older than that. It seems he has invited someone he has been pursuing to come to the party. This turns out to be Foxtrot Darling (Kim Whitmore) who is sixteen and has no idea what is going to happen to him if Cougar gets his way. It duly gets very complicated – Cougar has constructed a lot of lies about a dead wife to match the fact that Foxtrot has a dead brother and they are both grieving – especially after Sherbert Gravel (Naomi Preston-Low) turns up with a capacious handbag which contains some surprising things. She is the pregnant partner of Foixtrot's dead brother who has decided to take him on next. But no spoilers. The cast rise to the demands placed on them effectively, and Ridley's pot certainly bubbles away in gruesome style. The contents also include the pair's landlady, Cheetah, widow of a taxidermist whose factory is beneath their flat and who has some horrid tales to tell about what went on.

Cast

Brian Aris – Captain Tock

Frederick Russell – Cougar Glass

Karen Hatley – Cheetah

Naomi Preston-Low - Sherbert Gravel

Kim Whitmore – Foxtrot

Creatives

Director – Britany Rex

Fight & Intimacy Director – Nora Iso-Kungas

Lighting Designer – James King

Set – Roger Godfrey