I'm going to keep this fairly brief as I think a lot of impact may be lost if you go in knowing too much. Mites is an absurdist, darkly comic, psychological tale, which actually comes with some trigger warnings in the leaflet in regards to matters of abuse and mental illness. It's entirely done with three performers, some of whom have multiple roles (or do they?), on a single set. As soon as you enter, you understand why it's called Mites, as the whole set is authentically dusty and infested looking (and there is a great significance later on). The story follows a kind of dream/nightmare logic, which leads to some fascinating little digressions, which by the end makes you wonder what the real story is. Yes, there is a touch of "how much is real, how much imagined" in here, but unlike quite a few tales using that gambit, whichever it is, there is still an actual story here.
There's a lot of particularly dry humour in here, with some utterly absurd points, like the character of Bartholomew pictured above, played perfectly straight. As for how dark it gets, I won't call it outright horror per se, but boy does go quite a way down that path, including a chilling final moment. All the actors go a superb job, although I think a couple might have seemed a bit too young for the characters they were playing, but given the surreal other areas this goes into, that's not a deal breaker. All in all, a fun, different, creepy little time out in London. Want an evening out and are either think the West End shows are too mainstream (or too beyond the reach of your wallet), go give Mites a go while it's on!
Want a second opinion? Read what A Shiny Life for Me had to say.
Mites is playing at the Tristan Bates Theatre until the 26th of October
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