Director Simon Stone has proven again why he is one of the most exciting young theatremakers in the country with this loose, contemporary adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's Little Eyolf. A spare visual concept helps to concentrate the emotional rigour of the four perfectly pitched performances, while contributing yet another bathroom setting to an independent theatre scene that loves its bathroom settings. The piece is testament to the changing nature of Stone's concerns: one can draw a direct line from the rowdy teens of 2007's Spring Awakening and the desperate young adults of last year's Platonov to The Only Child's regretful thirty-somethings. The director is growing up.

The Australian, 29 September 2009