The critics have filed on The Urmetazoan, Alex Rugman’s debut play in the Hampstead Theatre Downstairs studio, which puts two estranged sisters in a bare Florida bungalow a fortnight before one of them leaves Earth for good. Dorothea Myer-Bennett plays Alice, a Nobel laureate bound for a one-way Mars mission; Meghan Treadway is Abigail, the younger sister who has not spoken to her in seven years; Ben Allen completes the cast as Alice’s ex, Will. Anna Ledwich directs. The notices run from four stars down to two, and they divide on the play rather than the playing: the performances are praised almost without exception, while several critics find the science and the sisterhood never quite fuse, and most agree that Will is the figure the play could spare.
The verdict: eight reviews in so far — two four-star notices, four three-star, one two-star and one outlet that publishes no rating, giving an average of 3.1 out of 5 across the seven that score. The cast is the point of agreement: Dorothea Myer-Bennett and Meghan Treadway are admired in every notice. Where the critics part company is on whether Rugman’s cosmology and his family drama ever meet, and on how much the third character adds.
What are critics saying about The Urmetazoan?
BroadwayWorld
"A small story of cosmic value"
Reviewer: Cindy Marcolina
"Rugman’s dialogues are sparse and impressionist. His conversations are naturalistic: past events are hinted at without any detailed descriptions that define Abigail and Alice’s pain, and their shared history unfolds with the familiarity of two people who don’t need to over-explain themselves for the benefit of an invisible audience. He trusts his viewers to engage with his characters emotionally, relying on them to fill in the gaps autonomously."
The Reviews Hub
"An intelligent debut by Rugman"
Reviewer: Richard Maguire
"Ledwich brings a sense of eeriness to the play by inserting enigmatic tableaux between the scene changes. At one point, Abigail is holding a dead animal in her hands, but when the lights come on again – time has passed – the animal is gone, but her hands are still lifted, cradling loss. These directorial decisions ensure that every moment is loaded with meaning. Jonathan Chan’s lighting design, mostly shadows with daylight seeping in behind the condo’s blinds, maintains the tension as the lift-off beckons."
London Box Office
"A near perfect trio of actors"
Reviewer: Stuart King
"The quirkily written characters and their delivery by a near perfect trio of actors, proves the play’s ultimate strength. Less convincing is the outlandish scenario which requires more substantive grounding. The nonchalant piecing together of weighty scientific tidbits never fully coalesces into a more substantial whole. Consequently, despite the accomplished performances and sensitive direction, Rugman’s effort feels akin to a poor man’s Stoppard. There is merit and considerable potential but facts and characters require far greater integration to fully convince beyond a novice’s level."
The Spy in the Stalls
"A very human story about letting go"
Reviewer: Jonathan Evans
"Myer-Bennett and Treadway match the dialogue with wonderfully natural performances, their lines and emotions overlapping in time to their shifting moods. Resentment and affection ebb and flow like tidal waves while verbal outbursts are pulled back by softer undertows and awkward pauses. The faltering connection is echoed by the frequent and abrupt blackouts that punctuate the short scenes. Anna Ledwich directs with wonderful stylistic flourishes."
LondonTheatre1
"Riveting in parts and lukewarm in others"
Reviewer: Chris Omaweng
"Quite a subtle play, it verges on the impenetrable at times in terms of its dialogue. It was admirable in some respects to have portrayed the two sisters as people who palpably understood each other even without finishing the articulation of their thoughts out loud. But it left parts of the play more difficult to work out than was strictly necessary, a point compounded by, for instance, a video call in which only one side of the conversation could be heard, and at least one scene almost in total darkness."
theartsdesk
"Unconvincing and underwhelming"
Reviewer: Aleks Sierz
"The second is the introduction of Will, Alice’s younger ex, whose arrival adds little to the story, except for a couple of predictable sex scenes, and who is comparatively underwritten. So while some episodes of awkward and then kooky sisterly rapport ring true occasionally, and there’s a brilliant moment when they both lose themselves in a gloriously loud Led Zeppelin song, somehow I never really believe in their relationship."
All That Dazzles
"Sharp, compelling and thought-provoking"
Reviewer: Sam Woodward
"Dorothea Myer-Bennett is exceptional as Alice. Her hard shell seems impenetrable, yet Myer-Bennett masterfully provides glimpses of the scared person beneath this brittle and emotionally suppressed exterior. She is fiercely passionate about her scientific convictions while remaining terrified of the mission that will take her away from everything she knows."
Also reviewed by: The Stage, where Holly O’Mahony gave three stars and wrote that Rugman’s debut "struggles to marry its themes" — her review is paywalled, so the rating, the byline and that line are all we can report first-hand.
The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph and the Financial Times had either not filed or could not be read when this roundup went up, and we will add them here as they become readable. For more from the same house, see our other recent London theatre review roundups.
The Urmetazoan is booking at Hampstead Theatre until Saturday 24 October 2026.
