The Shitheads Review: A Gloriously Idiosyncratic Cavepeople Drama
Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square - From February 13 to March 14, 2026, Jack Nicholls' debut play The Shitheads transforms the stage into a prehistoric world that speaks directly to contemporary anxieties. This production, directed by Aneesha Srinivasan and David Byrne, presents a fractious group of cavepeople whose story is anything but a historical re-enactment.
Beyond Historical Recreation
The opening line - "So... we think this is based on a true story" - immediately establishes the production's playful relationship with reality. While the cragged stone wall spanning the stage suggests authenticity, The Shitheads quickly reveals itself as a strange, macabre, and properly funny exploration of the human condition that ponders both past and future with equal intensity.
The production disrupts conventional notions of reality from its earliest moments. A majestic, ghostly puppet elk designed by Finn Caldwell and Dulcie Best canters onto stage, controlled by the cast with breathtaking precision. This eerie creation, with fabric trailing from its antlers suggesting decay, becomes the focal point of a chase between strong-headed Clare (Jacoba Williams) and frenetic Greg (Jonny Khan).
Performance and World-Building
Williams and Khan establish the play's distinctive world with remarkable gusto. Their childlike dialogue races forward with feverish excitement, words tumbling out in a tantalizing back-and-forth that blends flirtation with violence. Williams, on stage for nearly the entire hour-and-forty-minute runtime, delivers a raw, animalistic performance that appears effortless in its execution.
Without revealing plot details, Clare emerges dominant, leading the narrative inward to her cave dwelling. Here she lives with her squealing younger sister Lisa (a scene-stealing Annabel Smith) and their father Adrian (Peter Clements, referred to somewhat unnervingly as "Daddy" throughout).
Domestic Comedy Meets Prehistoric Reality
Anna Reid's set design creates a bizarre parody of domestic comedy, mimicking a living room ripped from a family sitcom but transplanted to prehistoric times. Lighting fixtures made of bones drop from the ceiling while a lampshade glows in the distance. Rugs cover the floor, and a real fire bursts from the ground - creating what might be described as My Family: The Cannibal Years.
The arrival of Greg's partner Annabel (Ami Tredea) and her puppet baby (controlled by puppetry captain Scarlet Wilderink) shifts the action into stranger territory. The production flows seamlessly between reality, dreams, imagination, and stories, aided by Asaf Zohar's soundtrack that transitions from hyper-realistic nature soundscapes to soft easy listening jazz and '80s synth-pop.
Climate Catastrophe and Contemporary Relevance
These anachronistic moments, while odd, prove integral to the production's meaning. Though set in the distant past, the world being destroyed by weather feels eerily prescient in our current era of climate catastrophe. Greg's warning that "The country's going to die" and "The weather's going to kill it" resonates with contemporary anxieties about environmental collapse.
Reid and Evelien van Camp's costume design reinforces this connection between past and present. While Adrian wears a coat of pelts, animal print and leather appear in other costumes through patterned leggings and t-shirts, worn alongside cargo shorts, gilets, and dungaree dresses. The modern world is never far from view, even in this prehistoric setting.
The Human Condition Eternal
The Shitheads doesn't offer lessons on surviving climate disaster; that's not its aim. Instead, this production takes big swings - both humorous and horrific - to remind audiences that terrible actions often accompany survival. Violence and love go hand in hand in this exploration of eternal human truths.
The production runs 1 hour and 40 minutes with tickets priced between £15 and £30. Performances continue at the Royal Court Theatre through March 14, 2026, offering London audiences a unique theatrical experience that challenges conventional storytelling while entertaining with its idiosyncratic vision.
