The Hunger - Fringe Review

Thomas Levi
13 hours ago
2 min read

Updated: 1 hour ago

★★★★☆

Looking for a tense, intelligent post-apocalyptic thriller that understands suspense is built through people, not monsters? ... try The Hunger. Set on an isolated Yorkshire pig farm, this gripping two-hander combines the intimacy of kitchen-sink drama with the creeping dread of psychological horror.

After a cannibalistic disease spreads through infected pork, Megan and her mother Deborah have survived by becoming entirely self-sufficient on their remote farm. Their isolation has protected them from the outside world, but survival comes at a brutal cost. As the undead arrive and secrets begin to surface, the carefully ordered life they’ve built starts to fracture, revealing that the greatest danger may already be inside the house.

Madeleine Farnhill has written a remarkably assured thriller. Every scene enters and leaves at the right moment, each serves a clear dramatic purpose, allowing tension to build naturally rather than through artificial shocks. The script understands exactly when to hold something back and when to let the audience connect the pieces for themselves. Even during quieter conversations, there is a constant sense that something is lurking just beneath the surface.

Hollie Burgess gives an impressive performance as Megan. She communicates a young woman raised in fear and isolation, revealing her uncertainty long before the dialogue does. Opposite her, Susan Jayne-Robinson delivers the production’s standout performance as Deborah. There is nothing theatrical about her portrayal of motherhood; every line feels lived rather than performed. She carries the exhausting weight of responsibility in every interaction, creating a character whose decisions remain believable even when the circumstances become increasingly horrifying.

The production isn’t without flaws. The central twist is well-seeded, but some of the foreshadowing is so prominent that audiences familiar with the genre will anticipate the reveal before it arrives. More significantly, the scene of exposition immediately after the final twist lingers longer than necessary. The audience has already understood the implications of what has happened, yet the script continues to explain emotions that the performances have already communicated beautifully. Trusting the actors to carry the ending would make the final moments even more powerful.

The Hunger is an accomplished piece of new writing with two exceptional performances that keep an audience invested; it stands out as one of the stronger original thrillers at this year’s Fringe. This is a thriller that leaves you hungry for whatever Madeleine Farnhill writes next.