Baby Reindeer, Bush Theatre

Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Richard Gadd exorcises his chilling past in his debut one-man play, coming to London fresh from its premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe. The word is glowing for Baby Reindeer, after it played to a sold-out run, universal acclaim and a Fringe First award.

Gadd lays his vulnerabilities out for everyone to see. In this autobiographical play directed by Olivier Award winner Jon Brittain (Rotterdam), Gadd (playing himself) recreates the period of his life when he was stalked by an older woman. One chance encounter dovetails into years of harassment and abuse. Its title misnomer leads audiences down a disturbing road – Baby Reindeer refers to the infantalising nickname she gave him.

The writer and actor makes the transition to theatre after a series of well-received comedy shows, though his material has always ventured into difficult territory. His 2016 show Monkey See, Monkey Do was a hit during its London run at the SoHo Theatre, and found the humour in his traumatic childhood. He has also worked in television, having written for Netflix’s Sex Education and appeared in Channel 4’s Humans.

Baby Reindeer is coming to Shepherd’s Bush for one month only. For those in search of accessible performances, there will be a captioned performance on 24 October and an audio described performance on 2 November matinée. Gadd will also be available for a post-show Q&A after the 16 October performance.

If the hype is to be believed, Baby Reindeer is set to be an unmissable play that is as unsettling as it is absorbing.