The Habits – Jack Bradfield – Hampstead Theatre

Last Updated on March 13, 2025

Fantasy meets reality in new play at Hampstead Downstairs

What happens when your fantasy self and your real self merge? Can fantasy protect us from painful realities that we have to face? Can fantasy be used as a mechanism for processing loss? These are but some of the questions raised in a powerful and very entertaining new play, The Habits, written by playwright Jack Bradfield, and having its premier at Hampstead Downstairs.

Bradfield is himself artistic director of theatre company Poltergeist. The Habits is the first play he has written that he has handed over to someone else to direct, and Ed Madden keeps the play moving at a fast and dramatic pace.

I must admit that I had to do my homework before seeing The Habits, in which initially three, and ultimately five, characters play Dungeons and Dragons. I assume my lack of knowledge about this game might be generational, as the largely young audience seemed fully informed about the ins and outs, judging by their responses. While the play explores the impact of bereavement, specifically the loss of a young man named Matt, who is connected closely to all three young characters – Jess (16), Milo (21) and Maryn (21) – it also weaves in two older characters in their 50s who have had to confront losses in their lives.

The characters were very well drawn. Jess (Ruby Stokes), a 16-year-old school girl, Milo (Jamie Bisping), an unemployed young man, and Maryn (Sara Hazemi), a trainee solicitor dealing with the stresses of making her way in her career. While they have known each other for years through their connection with Matt, whom they are all grieving, it is their grief and guilt that binds them together through enacting a Dungeons and Dragons story left by Matt. The games venue, WarBoar Boardgames Café in Bromley, is run by Dennis (Paul Thornley), a recovering gambling addict who is dealing with his own demons and Café Nero wanting to take over his venue. He is envious of the life that still lies ahead for the youngsters. His partner, Bev (Debra Baker), is a seen-it-all yet still empathic policewoman, a character that could have stepped right out of a Mike Leigh drama. Dennis and Bev seemed an unlikely pair to be locus parentis to these three young people, but they combined their life experience with a playfulness that enabled them to engage with the grieving younger characters. Through the fantasy of the game, they not only had to confront their own issues but were able to guide Jess, in particular, towards some positive resolution.

The older actors are also in the real world, by virtue of the stage of their careers, far more experienced than the younger three. In fact Jami Bisping makes his professional theatre debut in this role. So, they are perhaps mentoring the three younger ones in fantasy and reality. All five performances were strong, and Ruby Stokes has a particularly striking ability to take the audience along with her in her storytelling. She was wonderful to watch as she wrestled with a mix of emotions. The parts in The Habits are all insightfully and sensitively written with a great deal of humour considering the pain the characters are facing.

After 90 minutes, I certainly felt I had learned quite a bit about fantasy role play and its ability to connect people and to both protect people from feeling overwhelmed by the real world while providing space to process some of the experiences that life has thrown at them.

The Hampstead Downstairs is always interesting to visit because of its commitment to supporting and nurturing new writers. Jack Bradfield has already won the RTST Peter Hall Directors’ Award.  Now, with The Habits, a wider audience has an opportunity to see his ability as a playwright. I look forward to seeing what comes next from his pen.

The Habits runs at Hampstead Downstairs until 5 April 2025

Hampstead Theatre,
Eton Avenue,
Swiss Cottage,
London
NW3  3EU

Check the link for previews of more off West End productions