The Silence of the Lambs – Review – Hull New Theatre
By Roger Crow, November 2026
Every generation has that near-perfect horror story; a Beauty and the Beast tale which grips the viewer and plunges them into a dark pit of intrigue.
In the spring of 1991, as I moved to Yorkshire and settled into a new life, The Silence of the Lambs was everywhere. Jonathan Demme’s movie was attracting Oscar buzz, so on my daily bus commute to work, I devoured Thomas Harris’s source novel. And when I did see the movie at a midnight screening, that proved every bit as good as I hoped.
And for 35 years, Hannibal Lecter remained one of horror’s greatest anti heroes. Yes, Brian Cox had memorably played him in Michael Mann’s Manhunter in 1986, but Anthony Hopkins’ jaw-dropping turn as Lecter was a bogeyman for the 1990s, despite only being on screen for a few minutes. And of course Jodie Foster’s unforgettable turn as rookie FBI agent Clarice Starling was just as memorable.
So how on earth can you compress Demme’s movie and Harris’ book into a gripping stage play? And who can take on two titans of cinema like Hopkins and Foster? When the news dropped earlier in the year that a SotL stage play was on the way, I could not wait, having just written a magazine feature on Hannibal the Cannibal, which rekindled my love of the story.
And yes, I did have that pre-Christmas feel as I settled into my seat at Hull New Theatre, basking in the fact I didn’t have to traipse to a London for the privilege of seeing such a highly anticipated drama.
“Breakneck pace”
The good news is that John Partridge is spot on as everyone’s favourite peckish psychiatrist, but it’s Corrie veteran Mollie Gallagher who steals the show as Clarice Starling. She’s long needed a decent Weatherfield storyline (since the heartbreaking Seb murder story), so I was thrilled when she landed the part of the FBI rookie trying to make her way in a world of male colleagues often twice her size. (By coincidence, Prime Suspect launched at that same time as SotL in 1991 and told a very similar story).
Mollie looks terrific as the heroine, and is the perfect size for the character; diminutive compared to some of her often huge FBI co-stars, and yet towering over many of them dramatically. Her accent is on point, to my ears at least, even though at times the musicality of some phrases needs more pauses in the first act. Silence really is golden in places, and a few statements could have done with longer beats between characters.
The whole show moves at an almost breakneck pace, while Michael Taylor’s set is phenomenal. A masterpiece of design, the ‘fixed’ construction is complete with staircase and forced perspective walls lends a great sense of depth and multi-level threat. It’s never dull to look at, especially with the aid of projections, terrific lighting and Lecter’s cell, which doubles at the villain’s lair and the captured victim’s pit.
It’s also superbly gory in places, and does not shy away from the movie’s jet-black tone. I like the fact it’s a period piece, and can imagine some younger viewers wondering why landlines instead of mobiles and Internet-heavy research isn’t a factor. This is detective work from the era before the digital revolution, and it might only be 35 years ago, but it may as well have been 135 years given the technical advances.
“Claustrophobic”
Writer Gina Gionfriddo has done a sublime job of adapting Harris’s novel, perfectly summing up the threat of Buffalo Bill (Sam Jackson – superb); the dynamic between Starling and Lecter, and hidden depths that I’d forgotten from 35 years ago (if they were in the novel at all).
The first act ends with a genuinely chilling, iconic scene, and when the finale kicks in and Clarice goes after the psycho killer, it’s a masterful display of acting, lighting, direction and writing. That claustrophobic scene in the darkness when our heroine takes on a villain wearing night vision goggles had me perched on the edge of my seat.
Hands down this is one of the best stage thrillers you’ll see all year, and full marks to Gallagher and Partridge for giving Foster and Hopkins a run for their money.
Another Foster, Nikolai, was responsible for the direction, and what a superb job the North Yorkshire-raised (great) Dane does of it.
Yes, this ‘Lambs; is a very different beast, but it’s still a beauty of a production, whether like me you’ve been fascinated by the story for three-plus decades, or are new to the whole Lecter saga.
Like Starling’s target practice, this five-star production really hits the bull’s-eye. I would have no trouble sitting through the whole thing again a day later, and there’s no higher praise than that.
The Silence of the Lambs is at Hull New Theatre until 7th November
Adopted Yorkshireman Roger Crow developed a passion for film and TV in the 1970s and 1980s. He has been a published film and TV reviewer since the 1990s; a world travel and restaurant critic since the noughties, and for the past decade has assessed the pros and cons of live gigs and theatre productions around the UK. His ideal day would involve reviewing a performance of Bat Out of Hell, followed by a Pad Thai while being serenaded by Texas on a cruise around Europe.
crowsfeat.com; nostalgiahhh film podcast
