Seeing SINGLE WHITE FEMALE live on the Donald Gordon stage at the Wales Millennium Centre this week feels like stepping into a familiar nightmare, one that’s been given fresh air, sharper edges and a digital heartbeat. This first‑ever theatrical production of the cult 90s thriller is smartly calibrated for today, updating its central obsession to include the world of social media, and yet it never loses sight of the tension and dark humour that made the original film stick in our minds.
For anyone who grew up in the era of video rental stores, the term Single White Female became shorthand for the flatmate from hell, an innocuous phrase that slipped into everyday conversation with a chill in its undertone. The 1992 film starring Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh remains a touchstone of psychological suspense, both creepy and oddly humorous in its depiction of what happens when loneliness and identity blur into something dangerous. It wasn’t perfect cinema, critics at the time were mixed, but the performances and the idea of obsession turned inward lodged itself in pop culture.
This stage version, adapted by Rebecca Reid and touring the UK and Ireland, pulls that essential core forward. Here in Cardiff, the production reimagines the setup for the social media age, where influence, validation and identity are not just personal struggles but public performances. The script nudges us into this world without overwhelming the original story’s heart: the fear of being unseen and the terror that can follow when someone gets too close.
The heart of the show is the interplay between the two leads. KYM MARSH embodies Hedy, the seemingly charming lodger with too many layers, with a fierce and slippery energy. Kym’s performance is magnetic in its intensity; she deftly shifts from warm and vulnerable to unsettling and feral in a way that kept us off balance. Opposite her, LISA FAULKNER as Allie brings both humour and grounded humanity to her role. Allie is not just a victim in this retelling, she’s a woman juggling motherhood, career pressures and a craving for connection, all of which Lisa portrays with honesty and emotional depth.
Onstage, the two actresses push and pull at each other’s boundaries with a mixture of frayed nerves and undercurrents of humour that are genuinely funny. This dark humour is a strength of the production; it sneaks up on you in moments of tense dialogue or shifting power dynamics, reminding you that what’s being explored here is often absurd as well as frightening. Yet the tension never lets up. Even when you laugh, there’s a creeping sense that something else is waiting in the wings.
Director Gordon Greenberg’s staging makes good use of the Donald Gordon’s space. The set feels intimate yet cleverly flexible, drawing you into the private world of the characters. Lighting and sound play with a systemic unease, a message ping here, a reflected silhouette there, that echoes the way our phones and feeds have become extensions of ourselves. You’re reminded that in this story, nothing is quite private, and nothing is ever just what it seems.
By the time the plot pushes toward its darker moments, the tension in the auditorium is tangible. Lots of us were shifting in our seats, leaning in, or flinching as the psychological kibosh tightens. That’s no small feat for a story people might think they already know. What this play does particularly well is make the familiar feel freshly disturbing. It doesn’t rely on cheap scares or shock value, but on character and the uncomfortable truth that obsession doesn’t always arrive with obvious warning signs.
I saw several people during the performance glance down at their phones at odd moments, not checking them, almost reflexively measuring themselves against the characters’ fears and errors. That, perhaps, is where the update feels most effective: Single White Female on stage isn’t just about the roommate from hell anymore, it’s about how much of ourselves we perform and the risks we take when we invite others into our curated lives.
If you’re heading to Cardiff for this production, go with the same mix of curiosity and hesitance you might have brought to the original movie back in the day. Keep those stiletto heels tucked away, watch the shadows between the lines, and enjoy a show that’s as much about personality as it is about paranoia.
Overall, SINGLE WHITE FEMALE at the Wales Millennium Centre is gripping, smart and surprisingly thoughtful, a thriller that’s not afraid to laugh in the face of fear and then gently nudge you closer to it.
The show is here through to Saturday 31st January. Performances are at 7:30pm with a 2:30pm matinee on Thursday and Saturday. Tickets start at £17 and you can get yours HERE.
- Age guidance: 15+ (no children under 2). Please note that all under-16s must be seated with an adult aged 18 or above.
- The play contains depictions of violence, online bullying and scenes of a sexual nature.
- Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes (including 1 interval)
