Dark Erotica Quartet / Footfalls review | Fortyfivedownstairs

Two different plays share the stage in a double bill that explores passion and vulnerability. James Hazelden's Dark Erotica Quartet offers three short, loosely linked vignettes about sex and intimacy, while Samuel Beckett’s Footfalls follows an elderly woman speaking to her unseen mother, a meditation on memory and presence. Both pieces are carefully contained, but each invites the audience into varying kinds of human experience.


Each story in Dark Erotica Quartet stands alone, yet they converse with one another, forming a small universe of desire and openness. Under Blake Barnard’s perceptive direction, Hazelden’s script leans into sensual imagery and frank dialogue that is sexual without being crude. The comedy lands, but never at the expense of the characters, whose sexual natures are treated with authenticity and seriousness. When one reflects on the time a partner’s tears fell on his erect penis, it is delivered not as a joke, but with blunt, candid honesty.

The performances are strong across the board. Matthew Connell brings controlled restraint to the first story, portraying a character who seems emotionless on the surface but is quietly unravelling underneath. In the second vignette, Cait Spiker and Tim Wotherspoon carry a simmering tension as they plan the perfect kidnapping-ransom drop. But it is the third where Spiker truly commands attention, performing a sharp, vulnerable monologue that humorously captures the ordeal of remaining in the moment.



Hazelden tells three stories in three distinct styles, delving into sex and power without aggression. Insecurity, uncertainty and the constant negotiation of intimacy thread through each piece. His live cello accompaniment is a clever addition, and the acknowledgement of the cellist by the characters adds a layer of heightened absurdity while allowing the score to pulse gently beneath the drama.



Oliver Hall’s set and costumes are simple but striking in this production. A red curtain lines the back wall, with a black chest in front. Inside is a trove of sex toys, barely referenced but unmistakably present, a practical reminder of the sexual terrain the stories traverse. The all-black costumes and Spiker’s red heels feed into the show’s passion.



A brief interval comes after this captivating work, which then takes us into Footfalls, written by Beckett in 1975. It’s a marvelous performance by Maude Davey, with assured direction by Keith Brockett. It’s an interesting pairing that, while not entirely seamless, delivers a compelling shift in tone, moving from the playful intensity of Hazelden to Beckett’s intense focus on a single life and its quiet tensions.



In Footfalls, May, an elderly woman, paces slowly across the stage, speaking in hushed tones to her unseen mother. As she moves back and forth, her fragmented monologues reveal anxiety, and the echoes of her past, creating a haunting contemplation on time, isolation, and the struggle to stay present in a life marked by repetition and loss.



The set is stripped bare, with minimal lighting. Unlike Dark Erotica Quartet, there is no music or sound - it’s just Davey on stage, with nothing to hide behind. Every movement, every look carries the weight of the story, and it’s remarkable how much she conveys through her eyes alone. The emotions she reveals are subtle yet powerful, lingering over the audience.



While Hazelden dives headfirst into the messy, funny, and unguarded moments of desire, Beckett pares everything back to a solitary character, showing how intensely a life can be felt. Together, the two works highlight intimacy in different ways, making for an absorbing nigh of theatre.

Dark Erotica Quartet / Footfalls was performed at Fortyfivedownstairs between 12 - 16 November 2025.

Primary image credit: Mark Gambino
Secondary image credit: Keith Brockett