Nightfall, Bridge Theatre

Since the superlative reviews of Visitors (Arcola Theatre, 2014), Barney Norris has quietly continued to establish himself as one of our brightest young talents. He's not yet 30 and has achieved an impressive amount: co-founding theatre company Up In Arms, writing new plays including Eventide (Arcola Theatre, 2015) and While We're Here (Bush Theatre, 2017), plus 2016's book Five Met on a Wooden Plain, and a second novel to be published this June.

When we interviewed the playwright back in 2015 he hinted at a new work, developed, he said, 'in collaboration with our most prestigious partner yet... if that cooks up into something we can announce, that will feel momentous'.

Well, the moment is here and partners don't come much more prestigious that former heads of the National Theatre Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr. The inaugural season of their new 900-seat Bridge Theatre features a new play written by Norris. What's more, Laurie Sansom – former artistic director of the Royal and Derngate, as well as the National Theatre of Scotland – directs.

Nightfall crystallises Norris's trademark themes of love, loss and fading rural ways of life. It revolves around a family on a farm near Winchester. Jenny is widowed after an incident with a Labrador and a shotgun. Her son Ryan is struggling to earn enough through farming. Her daughter Lou returns home to grieve. But when Lou's wealthy boyfriend Pete turns up, the family equilibrium shifts.

Rising star Ophelia Lovibond (W1A, BBC; The Libertine, Theatre Royal Haymarket) plays Lou opposite TV regular Claire Skinner (Outnumbered, BBC) as Jenny.