The Wasp

The Hampstead Theatre black comedy transfers to the West End

When should childhood friendships be consigned to history? This is the crux of The Wasp, the 2014 sell-out hit play at the Hampstead Theatre, which now sees a West End transfer at the Trafalgar Studios this December, directed by Tom Attenborough. When two friends, who are experiencing very different trajectories in life meet in a tea shop for a catch-up, little does one of them know that the other has a very risky proposition to put forward - something that could see her jailed or worse. Morgan Lloyd Malcolm's sharp and darkly comic two-hander asks how far somebody is willing to go for revenge.

Carla and Heather last spoke to each other in Year Eight at school. Heather was the queen bee who tortured Carla. Now she is in a high-flying career with a gorgeous home and a husband. Carla is a single mother-to-be, smoking cigarettes and leading an impoverished existence. When they meet at a cafe to catch up, Heather is determined to come to terms with someone dark from her past, and knowing about Carla's lack of money, hands over a bag full of cash. The catch? Carla has to agree to Heather's startling and damning proposition. Both women are harbouring secrets, but it appears that Heather has more than the usual angst about her experiences....