Special mention must go to designer Bex Kemp for a spartan, wholly convincing set, the central naked light bulb surrounded by a ring of carving knives is a brilliant signifier to the play.

The most striking element of the set here, aside from the closeness, is the inclusion of a number of knives hanging chandelier-like from a light fitting. The multiple swords of Damocles, with more than enough for one for each character, introduce tension right from the beginning [and] are a danger to everyone.

Long-bladed knives glisten from the lighting structure in the centre of the singular kitchen room on stage like some gruesomely distorted chandelier, watching over the players from start to finish. For the discerning spectator it is an accurate sign of dark tensions ahead. The stage itself is small, simple, intimate and close, adding to the sense of entrapment and oppression felt by the characters. Significantly, the singular door on the set is bordered in blood red paint, seemingly signifying the jeopardy of transgressing thresholds in a world of fixed social hierarchy.