Review: The Soon Life (Southwark Playhouse Borough)

Review by Lily Melhuish

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You can rehearse a thousand scenarios, roleplay a million outcomes, but it’s always the unexpected that sends your best-laid plans into labour. As the saying goes, it’s the people closest to you that hurt you the most, and The Soon Life explores how to forgive, even when forgetting isn’t on the birth plan.

Heavily-pregnant Bec has gone into labour. Her midwife is nowhere to be seen, and her very recent ex-boyfriend has turned up uninvited to what was meant to be the ‘perfect’ home birth. She’s got a birthing pool, a boxset of Fleabag, and an exercise ball, but no plan for what to do when the contractions start and the only person in the room is the last person she wants to see.

Set in a London flat during lockdown, Phoebe McIntosh’s The Soon Life is a punchy, delightfully funny two-hander that delivers tension, tenderness, and the kind of awkwardness that makes you squirm and smile at the same time. Bec (also played by Phoebe McIntosh) is all sharp edges and biting remarks. She’s defensive, and fair enough, she’s in labour and her ex is loitering at her doorstep with a parcel from Amazon and a thousand things left unsaid. Alex (Joe Boylan) meets her hostility with soft, boyish earnestness. He’s on the back foot and knows it, awkwardly and endearingly flapping around a space he once called home.

Their chemistry is undeniable. Even in conflict, the love between them simmers beneath the surface. It’s as if they’re both holding something fragile, like a newborn baby. So much is expressed in silence: a steady hand during a contraction, a home-made bowl of gnocchi, a clean towel for a carpet stain. These moments land harder than any monologue.

Amidst a frantic phone call, Bec’s midwife advises her to use “bring it on” as a mantra during labour. It’s a rallying cry for the baby to arrive, used largely for comedic effect, but it also echoes the emotional terrain Bec and Alex are about to enter. The phrase becomes symbolic of the uncharted territory they face, not just the birth itself, but the prospect of parenting without a united front. It’s a moment that encapsulates the production’s central tension: how do you move forward together when everything between you has come undone?

As the initial awkwardness fades, familiarity resurfaces. One particularly moving scene sees Alex speaking to the unborn child, exposing his guilt, fear, and desire to be better. It’s raw and vulnerable, and makes you want to forgive him, though for what we’re not yet sure. But Bec isn’t ready. She’s angry, exhausted, and focused on the task in hand. For Alex, it’s been a gruelling two months since the breakup. For Bec, the pain is still fresh, taped up in a box and labelled ‘FRAGILE! DO NOT TOUCH.’

During an especially intense contraction, Bec demands music. She chooses Boss by Little Simz, and the moment is both hilarious and powerful. Her rage hasn’t yet made room for sadness, and she resents Alex for leaving her at a pivotal moment in both their lives. It’s a beat drop that doubles as a water break.

The lockdown setting, which I was initially wary of, is handled with care and precision. Far from gimmicky, it adds emotional weight and narrative clarity. It explains Bec’s reluctance to give birth at the hospital, her ability to hide the breakup from her parents, and why Alex might be the only person available. It lends the production a ‘what if you were the last two people on Earth’ urgency that works brilliantly in such a confined space.

Beth Duke’s sound design is exceptional. It’s subtle yet immersive; music from a speaker, a voice through a phone, a baby omitting its first cry. Symbolic elements such as the tick of a stopwatch and the baby’s heartbeat during contractions deepen the realism without disrupting it. Sarah Beaton’s rich set design complements this beautifully: baby books, NHS letters, laundry that’s fresh and dirty and everywhere. It’s cramped and chaotic, but cosy and lived-in. You can see Bec, and the remnants of Alex, in every corner.

Skilfully written by McIntosh, the play doesn’t shy away from graphic detail of child birth, but it’s balanced with well-timed humour that eases the tension. Sarah Meadows’ precise direction ensures the space feels safe, even under strained circumstances. Though the story unfolds over a single day, the 90-minute runtime evokes the exhausting stretch of labour. It’s intimate, emotionally charged, and driven by two sensitive, layered performances.

The Soon Life is a moving, sharply observed piece of fly-on-the-wall theatre. It’s about vulnerability, resilience, and the messy reality of love under pressure. Whatever lies ahead for Bec and Alex, one thing’s certain: they’re ready to face it. Bring. It. On.

The Soon Life plays at Southwark Playhouse Borough until October 18^th

For tickets and information visit https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/the-soon-life/

Photos by Suzi Corker