‘The Disappearing Man’: Essex Playwright’s Powerful New Tragedy Explores Love, Loss and Mental Health

28th October 202628th October 2026 Francesca Lilleystone 0 Comments Hornchurch, Play, Queen's Theatre, The Disappearing Man min read

By Ruth Kettle-Frisby – Guest Writer and Community Activist

Ruth is passionate about fostering positive change within the local community and regularly contributes insights and stories to The Havering Daily.

The Disappearing Man is award-winning Essex playwright Kenny Emson’s electrifying successor to the brilliant A Different Class. This bold new working class tragedy is a rollercoaster ride of a play: visually potent, while juxtaposing hard-hitting themes with a humble sincerity of unpretentious warmth, charm and heartfelt sleight of hand.

Powerful existential insights are offered into the nature and progression of fractured relationships; their degrees of emotional challenge and complexity, and the resulting impact on mental health. These tumultuous dynamics centre the protagonist, Barry – superbly encapsulated by Matt Bardock – and those in his elusive orbit of meaning: with his audience; his co-workers – the brilliant Courtney George and Kadell Herida; his ex-wife – played to quick-witted perfection by Debra Baker; his son Harry – movingly portrayed by David Angland – and, with his own divided self.

The production is simply yet impressively staged. A striking illusion of depth perception is conjured with layers of geometric light, which confront and recede, creating jarring and disorienting transitions. Light is cleverly used to shift and transform spatial dimensions to dazzling impact. Cognitive dissonance gives way to gentle charity of thought, with Clair de Lune tinkling pensively; light collapses into shade; warmth into emptiness, dread and alienation.

Bardock embodies the role in a compellingly physical sense. His playfully relaxed stage presence, piercing eyes, warm smile, and ironic humour imbue Barry’s flawed and contradictory character with a distinctive magnetism, bringing him to life as a character who – with his childlike grasp of life’s essence – exceeds the sum of the pitiful, tragic and unfortunate steps that lead to his downfall.

Multi-talented, dual-rolling Courtney George is wonderful as both Barry’s co-worker/lover, and the fortune teller. She represents the final crumbling straw, which is echoed poignantly by the remnants of the geometric rays from the ‘s[o]n’ tarot card, beaming onto the set.

Barry’s suffering estranged wife, Wendy, is easily the strongest character, with her irreverent wit and deep-seated dignity. Debrah Baker is phenomenal in this role with her cuttingly dry, down to earth delivery. Meanwhile, the chemistry created by David Angland as Wendy and Barry’s son Harry, is the play’s crowning glory.

Behind the curtain of the spectacle lies a web of human, all too human, suffering in the face of the cruel indifference of circumstance, of consequence, and even of character. The building of an all-consuming nihilism within Barry starts to be reflected around him too, swallowing up the last remnants of meaning as he disappears into gaudy abstraction.

The Disappearing Man is showing at Queen’s Theatre in Hornchurch until the end of October, so don’t delay in booking your tickets here: