The Void
Birmingham seems to be spoilt for choice this year for Halloween horror productions, but if you want something with a little bit of Sci-Fi, then look no further than The Void.
Set in the future and eight million miles from Earth, AI sees everything and desperate humans are reliant on it for their survival. Flint is a space ranger and when a distress call makes its way through to him from an ageing research vessel, he has no choice but to investigate. On boarding the craft, the Odyssey appears to be deserted, but all is not as it seems. Where are the ships crew? And what happened to them? Is something or someone else controlling the craft?
Flint, played by Alex Moran, (who also produces the piece), is a mysterious character, mainly because he can’t remember things due to his chip being re-set. Flint is a good storyteller and draws the audience in easily. When he stumbles across Blair, played by Ryan Simons, (who also wrote and directed), the questions begin. The two characters work well and before long we are questioning which one is telling the truth and what secrets exactly are they hiding.
Olwen May, the voice of NOVA, the AI on the ship, provides uncertainty with her lack of empathy and leaves the audience with the suspicion that maybe the humans are not in control after all. The performance captures the key elements of storytelling and intrigue and leaves the audience guessing right up until the end and leaves us asking questions long after it has finished.
With its use of video screen to show us the depths of space and to replay video footage as we piece together the story, the set design by Caitlin Mawhinney is perfect for immersing the audience. Played in Birmingham Rep’s Door space, it is impossible not to feel like you are in space with them and the audience are certainly affected by the many jump scares provided.
There are some important attentions to detail, for example, Flint’s gloves being covered in “space dust” and Nikoleta Tzani’s make up and prosthetics in the video footage is beautifully apparent. There is also an extremely impressive space walk provided by Fine Entertainment (Jamie Docherty and Lewis Joss), which is fascinating to watch.
The production has been expertly put together and is a wonderful addition to the horror genre on stage. It does not disappoint and we highly recommend you catch it if you can.
This show was reviewed on the 28th October 2026 at Birmingham REP. For more information on the show please visit: The Void — THUNDER ROAD
Review written by Rachel Louise Martin
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Photo credit : Marc Brenner
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