Bull (Touring) ★★★★

The premise is straightforward: a company is downsizing by a third and three employees have to meet their boss to fight to stay in their jobs. A simple office set, delineated within an LED square, becomes the battleground between the three – the Stephen Joseph Theatre’s in-the-round seating amplifying the feel of a boxing ring.

What is clear from the off is that one employee, Thomas, has been designated the sacrificial candidate for the cull by the other two, Isobel and Tony. As they wait for the arrival of their boss, they set about undermining his confidence and self belief in any way possible. Just as writer Mike Bartlett created a train of doubt starting with one small object in his hit TV drama, Doctor Foster, in this play Isobel and Tony begin with micro-aggressions to undermine Thomas. Asking why he chose to wear that suit, quizzing him what his father did, probing why he calls himself Thomas rather than Tom, it’s like they are picking at any loose threads to find the weaker seams. 

As the accusations fly, the savagery of the personal attacks increases. There may have been collusion between the two ahead of this decisive meeting with Team Leader Tony not telling Thomas to have printed-off sales figures with him. It also emerges that he has been deliberately excluded from the regular post-work drinks on Thursdays. 

Bull, by turns, switches between the ludicrous competitiveness of TV’s The Apprentice and some pernicious childish playground bullying. The performances are uniformly excellent. Rilwan Abiola Owokoniran oozes oleaginous surface charm to mask a decidedly cut-throat interior. Rebecca Blackstone could rival Succession‘s Roy family for being so compellingly vile. Brimming with cheek-boned malice, her Isobel is a terrifying, icy predator. What works so well about their performances is that they never descend into cartoonish villainy. There’s a credibility to the way they attack Thomas.