The Wasp
Morgan Lloyd Malcolm(Author)
Methuen Drama (Publisher)
2nd Edition
Published on 8. May 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
80 pages
978-1-350-65968-1 (ISBN)
Description
Two words twenty years after doesn't quite feel enough though does it?
Heather and Carla haven't seen each other since school. Their lives have taken very different paths - Carla lives a hand-to-mouth existence while Heather has a high-flying career, husband and a beautiful home. And yet, here they are in a cafe having tea and making awkward conversation. That is until Heather presents Carla with a bag containing a significant amount of cash and an unexpected proposition...
A twisting two-hander, this electric thriller from Morgan Lloyd Malcolm (Emilia) asks how far beyond the playground we carry our childhood experiences - and to what lengths some people are willing to go in order to come to terms with them.
The Wasp was first staged at Hampstead Downstairs, Hampstead Theatre, London, in January 2015, transferring to the Trafalgar Studios in the West End in December 2015. This edition was published to coincide with the revival at Southwark Playhouse in May 2026, as presented by Greenwich Theatre Productions in association with CultureClash Theatre.
Heather and Carla haven't seen each other since school. Their lives have taken very different paths - Carla lives a hand-to-mouth existence while Heather has a high-flying career, husband and a beautiful home. And yet, here they are in a cafe having tea and making awkward conversation. That is until Heather presents Carla with a bag containing a significant amount of cash and an unexpected proposition...
A twisting two-hander, this electric thriller from Morgan Lloyd Malcolm (Emilia) asks how far beyond the playground we carry our childhood experiences - and to what lengths some people are willing to go in order to come to terms with them.
The Wasp was first staged at Hampstead Downstairs, Hampstead Theatre, London, in January 2015, transferring to the Trafalgar Studios in the West End in December 2015. This edition was published to coincide with the revival at Southwark Playhouse in May 2026, as presented by Greenwich Theatre Productions in association with CultureClash Theatre.
Reviews / Votes
A weapon of a play... Lloyd Malcolm really knows how to press an audience's buttons and the sense of tension, of jeopardy, is palpable * The Stage * An enjoyably nasty thriller... revels in unexpected plot twists. The deranged and unreasonable suddenly seem frighteningly reasonable... * Guardian * The Wasp twists and turns, pulling the rug again and again until its tense, breathless conclusion... a remarkably gripping thriller * Exeunt * Intense, absorbing and gripping theatre, with dark humour in abundance * LondonTheatre1 *More details
Series
Edition
2nd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Dimensions
Height: 128 mm
Width: 198 mm
Thickness: 9 mm
Weight
80 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-65968-1 (9781350659681)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
Morgan Lloyd Malcolm is a playwright and screenwriter. Her play Emilia (Shakespeare's Globe, 2018) transferred to the West End the following year. Her play Belongings premiered at the Hampstead Theatre and Trafalgar Studios (2011) and was shortlisted for the Charles Wintour Most Promising Playwright Award and her play The Wasp at Hampstead Theatre also transferred to Trafalgar Studios in 2015.

