Through surreal encounters, biting dialogue and moments of aching tenderness, Drifting captures the voice of a generation navigating economic precarity, fractured identity and the elusive promise of a better life. With a rich ensemble of characters—family, friends, strangers and ghosts of possibility—this is a story about standing still, stepping forward and the courage it takes to leave.
Review by Richard Lambert
It started feeling like we were on a ship, then a supermarket, a bus and also a kitchen flat. With a frame made out of scaffold poles and a ladder that was used when in a supermarket it took a few moments in each scene to try to figure out where the scene was supposed to be taking place. And there was a festoon of lights that could individually change colour. The festoon got moved around being hung between different hooks on some of the scene changes. Not sure what or why this was happening except that you could so they did.
All eight actors stay in the space for the play and sit at tables for two at the rear of the stage if it isn’t their scene. It looks like they’re at a make-up spot with a wall-mounted shelf for each table. Water bottles at the ready so they can have a drink when not on stage. Each actor has their couple of scenes each with one performer seemingly watching or interacting the entire 90 minute performance. Her role might have been as a ghost but it was hard to tell really.
Despite the actors giving it their all, I have to admit I was very confused by what was going on for most of the time.
I did enjoy the musical choice for the scene changes and the lighting was great throughout! The venue being a thrust formation offers additional challenges when lighting but the lighting design just delightful!
Ardent Theatre Company has a rich history which is pasted below from the press release.
Photos by Mark Douet
Cast:
Toby Batt (Father/Passenger 3)
Olivia McGrath (Stranger/Passenger 5)
Trae Walsh (Young Man)
Olivia Israel (Arcade Assistant/Ticket Master/Arcade Assistant 2)
Phoebe Woodbridge (Mother/Reader)
Yarrow May Spillane (Girlfriend/Passenger 4)
Amirah Abimbola Alabere (Work Colleague/Passenger 1)
Lewis Allen (Manager/Passenger2/Taxi Driver)
Creative team:
Writer/Director – Andrew Muir
Stage Manager – Chloe Brown
Press & PR – Kevin Wilson Public Relations
Publicity Design – Sean Longmore
Publicity Design photo – Jimmy Lee Portraits
Production photos – Mark Douet
Supported by Cockayne Grants for the Arts, a Donor Advised Fund, held at The Prism Charitable Trust, The Foyle Foundation, The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, The Boris Karloff Charitable Foundation, Katie Bradford Arts Trust, Dan’s Force Fund, Ian McKellen, Sean Mathias, Richard Darbourne, Judi Dench, Emma Thompson, Ciarán Hinds, Joanna Lumley, Jonathan Pryce, Lorraine Kelly, Mike Leigh, David Harris and John Manuell, Charles Glanville and James Hogan, the Big Give and all those who donated to the Big Give campaign.
Ardent Theatre Company
Ardent Theatre Company launched in 2014 and became a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation in April 2015 (Charity No. 1161320). We are a theatre company with a social justice mission: to end class inequality in the arts. We envision a future where at least 50% of creatives working in theatre and 50% of audiences attending theatre identify as working-class or come from a working-class background.
Ardent was inspired by the first-hand experiences of its founders Mark Sands and Andrew Muir of growing up in working-class families on the South coast and combating socio-economic and geographic barriers to forge a career in an industry that seemed only accessible to the privileged few.
In 2024, we celebrated our 10-year milestone and in June 2025 we launched a bold 10-year strategy – our Manifesto for Change – to drive systemic reform and remove barriers that prevent writers, actors and audiences from low socio-economic backgrounds having access to high-quality theatre experiences.
Through our work we aim to: Create opportunities for working class creatives to connect with potential employers; bridge the gap between university actor training and drama school.; increase paid
opportunities for working-class actors; influence the sector to increase employability for working-class creatives; remove barriers that stop working-class audiences from going to the theatre.
Our work spans five core strands:
PRODUCTIONS: Plays by writers who identify as working-class or come from a working-class background.
GRADU8TE: Career progression programme for graduate acting students who identify as working-class or come from a working-class background.
ARDENT VOICES: A platform for sharing lived experiences from within the industry.
ARDENT RESOURCES: Free online learning tools for early career artists.
ADVOCACY: Using our voice to push for class equality in theatre.
About the ARDENT8 programme
The ARDENT8 programme was launched in 2016 to support emerging young who face financial and
geographic barriers to pursuing their careers. Often, the most talented of actors will have given up
before they’ve even realised their full potential because they are unable to access other cities that
provide greater employment and development opportunities. The aim is to give them a taste of life as an actor in London to access opportunities within the industry they have otherwise found inaccessible. In doing so, they will develop their skills further in a professional context that also introduces them to key industry practitioners.
The programme consists of the following: 12 practical workshops led by industry professionals.
1-week professional paid performance at a London theatre and a 2-week tour. Ongoing advice and
mentoring. All travel, subsistence and accommodation costs. All performances treated as professional engagements paid at 5% above Equity minimum rates. A post-project option to be paired with a
professional mentor for up to 12-months
Our current workshop leaders include Ben Cogan (Casting Director), Nadine Rennie (Casting Director), Hazel Holder (Voice & Dialect Coach – National Theatre), Ira Mandela Siobhan (choreographer, movement director, actor and dancer), Kate Saxon (TV, Theatre, Film and Video Games director), Daniel Bailey (Director, Dramaturg and Writer), Des Fleming (actor, writer, tutor) and Sue Dunderdale (director).
Our current fourth cohort of 8 actors were recruited from Bournemouth and Poole College, Manchester Metropolitan University and De Montfort University Leicester, and currently travel in from Crawley, Bury, Ulverston, Milton Keynes, Sutton Coldfield and Diss.
Ardent Theatre Company presents
DRIFTING
by Andrew Muir
in collaboration with Ardent8 ensemble
Southwark Playhouse Borough
77-85 Newington Causeway
London
SE1 6BD
Tuesday 18 November – Saturday 22 November
7:30pm Evenings
3:00pm Matinee (Saturday)
Captioned performance Friday 21 November
Press performance:
Tuesday 18 November at 7.30pm
How To Get There: The nearest stations are
Borough and Elephant & Castle
Box Office
Tickets are available from
southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/drifting
Ticket Prices:
Pay what you can (PWYC) from £2.50-£15.00
Age Guidance:
12+