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Gifts from The Morning Star
Frozen response
A challenging play about a child killer leaves MARY CONWAY somewhat cold
Splendid: Suranne Jones and Nina Sosanya in Frozen [Johan Persson]

Frozen
Theatre Royal Haymarket, London

BRYONY LAVERY’S Frozen arrives at the Theatre Royal with a starry cast and a formidable track record after previous productions at Birmingham Rep, the National Theatre and on Broadway attracted award nominations.

But there's something about Lavery's story of a remorseless serial killer who commits the kind of crime that makes avengers of us all and sets mobs baying for blood that leaves me cold.

Centred on the rape and murder of a child, Frozen cuts through spontaneous revulsion with intelligent questions while seeming to exploit, rather than dissipate, the prurience of the world at large.

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