Hampstead theatre, London
Sophie Melville and Laura Whitmore star in an ambitious yet flawed play about the pressures of parenthood

John Donnelly’s new play is perceptive about early parenthood, especially the way a baby’s arrival stress-tests your relationship. He particularly captures the strange combination of surety and fragility in which families take shape. Designer Tom Piper has shrunk Hampstead’s wide stage and surrounded it by scaffolding to create a sense not just of lives under construction but also the preciousness of a family unit sheltered from danger. Donnelly’s drama suggests a kind of 100-minute cortisol release as a mother and father battle with fight or flight responses. But despite the nuanced domestic backdrop, Apex Predator’s interwoven supernatural and thriller elements are bloodless, albeit not literally.

Mia and Joe live in London with their 11-year-old son, Alfie, and five-month-old Isla. Joe is frequently away for work of a sensitive, classified nature. Mia is driven to despair by sleep deprivation, exacerbated by the noise from upstairs neighbours. To make matters worse, Alfie has been biting other children but his art teacher, Ana, is here to help. Maybe she could give Alfie some extra free-of-charge tuition, take Mia on a boozy night out, perhaps offer her own breast for Isla to suckle?

At Hampstead theatre, London, until 26 April