Entertaining Mr Sloane
02 October 2025
Young Vic Theatre
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
Entertaining Mr Sloane, currently running at the Young Vic until 8 November, is a darkly comedic and sexually charged play that leaves a lot of questions unanswered.
Desperately lonely middle aged Kath, who is carer for her elderly father, seeks to take on a lodger, for a little extra income as much as for entertainment and to ease her loneliness. But when young and exceedingly charming Mr. Sloane comes to view the room, temperaments boil over quickly. Kath is immediately taken with the attractive young man, much to the chagrin of her father who believes to recognise Sloane a murder scene a few years back. Additionally, Kath’s brother quickly becomes embroiled with the charismatic lodger as well and a game of jealousy and power struggles begins to shake up the family.
The stage design matches the tone of the dark comedy very well, with charred and broken furniture items surrounding the circular stage at the centre of the auditorium, as well as a mobile of suspended furniture above it. It is dark, the only colour coming from the blood red carpet, all the sparse furnishings on stage equally black and sooty as their surroundings. It’s stark, matching the energy of the play.
Kath is a wild and lascivious woman, sparklingly played by Tamzin Outhwaite, intimidated by her bully of a brother, while irritated with her grumpy, ageing father whom she cares for. She throws herself at Sloane with fervour and passion, focussed on the here and now with no regard for consequences.
Her brother Ed is dominant, practical, and business minded. He is quickly taken with Sloane, making him his chauffeur and dressing him in leather. But his possessiveness quickly catches up with him when he realises that Sloane, played with swagger and flirty energy by Jordan Stephens, has many interests on the side. Sloane himself is charming and dynamic, yet his motivations are never quite clear. Drifting between affections, he seems like an empty vessel used by those around him, never quite fully realised as a character of his own.
There is humour and sex appeal in this production, yet it does fall a bit flat in the second act.
