Monster

Monster plays The Studio at the Grand Opera House on Monday 19 October, brought to Belfast by Dark Forest Theatre. It's a new play written by Nathan Martin and directed by Heather Martin, and it sits right in the dark, unsettling territory of family secrets and the things we do when we're desperate.

At its centre is Claire, a mother whose grief over a lost family starts to turn darker as long-buried secrets claw their way back to the surface. The play doesn't let the dead stay quiet, either — they refuse to hold onto their own secrets, and that's where the real tension comes from. It's a chilling look at motherhood and grief, and the monstrous things we're capable of in the name of love. The central question it leaves you with is a heavy one: a mother should love her children, but what if her children are monsters?

It's the kind of show that works best when you're sitting close to the action, and The Studio is exactly that kind of space — an intimate room within the Grand Opera House that puts you right in the middle of the story. If you're into theatre that leans into the darker side of family dynamics and doesn't shy away from the uncomfortable, this is one to keep on your radar. It's on Monday 19 October at The Studio at the Grand Opera House, presented by Dark Forest Theatre.