Slaughterhouse 5
16 June 2026
Southwark Playhouse Borough
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
An ambitious adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse – Five is currently running at the Southwark Playhouse Borough until 4 July. So It Goes Theatre take on the mammoth task of staging Vonnegut’s first bestselling novel, a science fiction anti-war narrative based on the author’s own experiences in the second world war.
Billy Pilgrim has become unstuck in time. After being abducted by aliens at his daughter’s wedding, and exhibited in a zoo on their home planet of Tralfamadore, Pilgrim gets flung back and forth through time, never knowing what part of his own life he will experience next. Heavily influenced by being a POW in Dresden, Germany, during its destruction by the allied forces, Pilgrim is presented with a dizzying journey from birth to death and everything in between, questioning the notion of free will while being thrown back and forth in his own life.
The story of the book is presented through an unreliable narrator, incorporating fantastical elements amongst very real historical events, to present a devastating anti-war message infused with personal experiences and fascinating viewpoints. In this show, the story is presented by a revolving cast of characters, rather than from Pilgrim’s perspective, adding another layer of chaos to a complex story while whittling it down to its most important elements.
Staged with an impressive video-design aesthetic that brings grim whimsy to the darker elements of Pilgrim’s life, it’s a brilliantly structured production that really captures the soul of the novel. The devastation of war, not just in human cost but extending to the loss of history and culture, are made incredibly clear through the use of projections and expert acting. The underlying question surrounding the existence of free will becomes a haunting note as the play hurtles to its conclusion with an increasingly break-neck pace.
An incredible production, blending intellectual stimulation and emotional devastation with a deft hand, this is one not to be missed!
