Firebird

“You’ve got these twinkling eyes, all bright and dancey… They will love taking that from you.”

Tia has been in care since she was three. She can’t stand her foster mum, and her friends keep letting her down. But when she meets AJ, a charismatic older man, he seems like the answer to all her problems. At first, he is. But AJ has done this before, and after the gifts and compliments come the threats and abuse. When fourteen-year-old Katie moves to town, a chink of light appears in the darkness that’s threatening to swallow Tia.

Firebird is a gripping, unflinching drama about grooming and exploitation, exposing the catastrophic failures of the systems designed to protect children in the UK.

Marlie Haco’s new production combines Davies’ “remarkably potent” text (The Times) with movement and an original score to shine a light on an ongoing national scandal.

This is the first revival of Firebird since its highly acclaimed West End transfer from Hampstead Theatre in 2016.

Performance Dates

9th July - 1st August 2026 - Southwark Playhouse - click here for tickets

Reviews

“One of the most accomplished pieces of theatre-making currently playing in London... it is a production that demands to be experienced and I would imagine it earns itself quite a reputation. ”

— All That Dazzles

★ ★ ★ ★ - The Stage
- “Marlie Haco’s revival finds fresh relevance… a chilling study of grooming and coercive control.”
- “We’ve seen slick, modern sets like Tomás Palmer’s before, where the characters appear sandwiched between the squares of a wallless box. But rarely is the image of claustrophobia they create – of being trapped with nowhere to run or hide - so fitting.”
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - Theatre To See London
- “Marlie Haco’s direction keeps the fragmented structure engaging throughout, allowing scenes to flow seamlessly without ever losing the audience… unfolding in fractured memories that mirror the confusion and lasting impact of trauma.”
- “Every creative element works together with precision, resulting in a production that feels cohesive and carefully crafted… Thought-provoking, emotionally affecting and driven by exceptional performances, it’s a powerful piece of theatre that leaves a lasting impression.”
★ ★ ★ ★ - The Live Review
- “If Run Sister Run demonstrated Double Telling’s gift for finding humanity within fractured relationships, Firebird applies that same emotional precision to an altogether darker subject. Once again, Haco trusts movement, silence, and physical storytelling as much as dialogue, creating a production that doesn’t simply tell us about trauma - it makes us feel it.”
- “Mollie Milne is extraordinary as Tia. Her performance extends far beyond the script; the trembling mouth, involuntary shaking, retching, and sobbing communicate things language simply cannot… It is one of the most devastating portrayals of trauma I’ve seen on stage.”
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - All That Dazzles‍ ‍
- “Director Marlie Haco embraces the fractured structure of Davies’ writing and trusts the audience to keep up. The production moves through time with an unsettling, almost glitch-like rhythm... It’s disorienting in exactly the right way… Every word lands perfectly, balanced beautifully against music and environmental sound.”
- “The design work is exceptional… The height of the playing space allows for some beautifully realised moments of duality… The set doesn’t just create locations. It creates emotional states… Hidden trapdoors open unexpectedly beneath the actors’ feet, while sections of the set rise, lower, and disappear entirely. A pulley-operated ceiling transforms the space from open and expansive to crushingly claustrophobic in a matter of seconds.”
- “What lingers most after the final scene is the remarkable cohesion of the production as a whole. Everything feels connected.. . the production speaks with a single voice and it really works.”
★ ★ ★ ★.5 - The Reviews Hub
- “Marlie Haco’s direction and Ben Jacobs’ lighting design ensure that each scene is powerful and completely gripping, using frequent swift blackouts, which heighten the tension and suspense remarkably well.”
- “Tomás Palmer’s set design is used constantly to reshape the landscape on stage… The levered-ceiling is raised and dropped constantly, whether it’s to evoke the feeling of claustrophobia while Tia is trapped in an attic room, or to showcase the confined space during a police interrogation, it’s brilliantly done, and really helps to lock in the audience on the action throughout.”
★ ★ ★ ★ - West End Best Friend
- “A tasteful, brave production with incredible performances.”
- “The way that this production starts and ends in the same place, but jumps back in time for the majority of the 90 minutes, is incredibly clever in its tragic portrayal of Tia’s demise.”
★ ★ ★ ★ - Everything Theatre
- “The cast are incredible. Milne completely inhabits the character of Tia, expertly creating this prickly character who’s suffered unimaginable horrors as a teenager. The contrast between her cocky attitude towards her friend and AJ when they first meet, and the broken girl we see as the abuse plays out, is remarkable and Milne gives a truly immaculate performance.”
- “Music by Ákos Lustyik, set by Tomás Palmer and lighting by Ben Jacobs work together seamlessly to intensify the mood of the play. Pulsing strobe lights and bursts of electronic music used to cut off the drama, to leave our imagination to fill in the horrors and to reflect the chaotic nature of this new world Tia finds herself in. Even a brief pause for a technical issue didn’t take away from the power of the play.”
- “I leave the theatre with an intense feeling of grief, not just for Tia, but for all the children this has happened to. I’m angry and distraught, but isn’t that what theatre is meant to do? Provoke reaction. Firebird tells a story that we must never forget.”
★ ★ ★ ★ - Broadway World
- “Phil Davies’ gutwrenching three-hander… is a highly character-driven piece, and as such Milne and Nazeer’s performances provide a dynamism that makes a 90-minute runtime feel rapid.”
- “Haco’s production breathes new life into the source material… This fresh, visually engaging production presents trauma in all its complexities and contradictions, and forces us not to look away.”
★ ★ ★ ★ - London Pub Theatres
- "Powerful and eye-catching direction from Marlie Haco, a dynamic set design that makes Tia’s confinement physical and vivid, Phil Davies’ note-perfect dialogue, and a scorching, excoriating central performance by Mollie Milne as Tia.”
★ ★ ★ ★ - LondonTheatre1
- “A chilling new production directed with sharpness and precision by Marlie Haco… It tackles deeply uncomfortable subject matter with honesty, intelligence and compassion.”
- “Tomás Palmer’s superb stripped-back set creates an oppressive sense of confinement and claustrophobia, while Ben Jacobs’ jagged lighting and Ákos Lustyik’s unsettling sound design constantly keep the audience on edge... Every creative decision serves the story rather than distracting from it.”
★ ★ ★ ★ - Theatre Weekly
- “Director Marlie Haco has clearly found the essence of these characters… this revival is anchored by superb performances and a confident production that refuses to look away from an uncomfortable truth. More than a decade after its premiere, Firebird remains an uncomfortable but essential piece of theatre.”
★ ★ ★ ★ - North West End
- “A gripping drama… Nazeer’s AJ has nuclear charm where [Milne’s] Tia has atomic grit.”
★ ★ ★ ★ - The Reviewer
- “An important play [that] highlights issues that are often ignored but need to be discussed… The actors delivered powerful performances, making the audience truly feel Tia’s pain.”