The Guilty at a glance

Show
The Guilty
Venue
Harold Pinter Theatre, West End
Address
6 Panton Street, London SW1Y 4DN
Nearest station
Piccadilly Circus or Leicester Square
Genre
Psychological thriller (one-person play)
Running time
65 minutes, no interval
Age guidance
14+
Dates
Previews from 16 January; opening night 27 January; closes 3 April 2027
Matinees
Wednesday and Saturday
Price range
From £35.50 (typically £35.50–£170)
Writer
Chloë Moss, based on the film Den Skyldige by Gustav Möller and Emil Nygaard Albertsen
Director
Felix Barrett

Expert Review: The Guilty at the Harold Pinter Theatre

4.3
★★★★★

LTH Expert Rating

Reviewed by the London Theatre Hub editorial team. Last updated: 26 October 2026.

The Verdict

The Guilty is built on one tight idea. A police officer is on the phone; somewhere out of sight, a woman is in danger; the audience hears only what he hears. Over sixty-odd minutes, with no interval and no other actors on stage, Joe tries to work out where she is and what is happening to her, and the story keeps shifting under him. Chloë Moss's adaptation keeps the structure of the Danish film that inspired it, and Felix Barrett — best known for Punchdrunk's immersive work — stages it as a pressure cooker.

At the Donmar, the production sold out and drew strong notices, most of them centred on Russell Tovey, who carries the whole evening on his own. Critics were not unanimous: the reviews ranged from five stars to three, with one finding the premise hard to believe. Our rating is based on the Donmar run and its reception; the West End staging opens on 27 January and we will revisit it then. At 65 minutes, with more than 20,000 tickets across the run priced at £40 or less, it is also one of the more accessible West End evenings of early 2027.

What Makes It Special

  • Russell Tovey, alone on stage. A solo performance that critics at the Donmar consistently singled out.
  • Real-time tension. The play unfolds as one continuous phone call, with no interval to break the grip.
  • Felix Barrett directs. The artistic director of Punchdrunk, known for immersive theatre, brings a heightened sense of atmosphere to a single room.
  • Based on an acclaimed film. Adapted by Chloë Moss from the 2018 Danish thriller Den Skyldige.
  • Good value. More than 20,000 tickets across the run are priced at £40 or less.

You'll love The Guilty if you...

  • Enjoy tense thrillers and twisty plots
  • Admire a single actor carrying a whole show
  • Prefer short evenings without an interval
  • Liked the films Den Skyldige or The Guilty
  • Are a fan of Russell Tovey

It might not be for you if you...

  • Want a big cast and a full stage spectacle
  • Find intense, distressing subject matter difficult
  • Are bringing anyone under 14
  • Prefer slow-burn, character-led drama
  • Already know the film's twists well

Best for

  • Thriller fans
  • Date night
  • Short evenings
  • Star performances
  • Pre-dinner theatre
  • Film fans

Not suitable for under-14s or for audiences who find tense, distressing material difficult.

Critical Reception

The Guilty premiered at the Donmar Warehouse in summer 2026 and sold out its run. Reviews were mostly strong, with near-universal praise for Russell Tovey's performance; opinion divided on the plausibility of the premise. Verified ratings from the Donmar production:

  • Theatre Weekly ★★★★★
  • Time Out ★★★★
  • WhatsOnStage ★★★

Source: published reviews of the Donmar Warehouse production, summer 2026. The West End run opens on 27 January 2027.

Everything You Need to Know

What happens in The Guilty?

Joe is a police officer who has been taken off the streets and put on desk duty, answering emergency calls. It is meant to be a quiet shift. Then the phone rings, and a woman called Emily is on the line, clearly in danger and unable to speak freely.

One call

Joe has only her voice and fragments of information to go on. He has to work out where she is, who she is with and what is happening to her, and he can only act through the phone.

Nothing is quite what it seems

As the call goes on, the situation keeps shifting, and Joe's own state of mind comes into question. The play unfolds in real time, and the production asks audiences to keep its twists to themselves — so do we.