There’s no friend like an old friend, as the strapline puts it.

A lot has happened in the 20 years since Carla and Heather last spoke to each other, at school. Intermediate School years are the ones that loom largest in The Wasp: early adolescence when so many things seem hugely important. Then, when you grow up and move on into the ‘real world’, does any of it matter anymore? Really? That’s the nub.

Now both are married and leading very different lives. Carla (Miriama McDowell) is pregnant with her fifth child and Heather (Bree Peters) appears to be as privileged as she’s always been, except she and Simon have not been able to conceive a child.

It’s Heather who has set up their reunion in a café, or rather outside it since Carla is vapes. Playwright Morgan Lloyd Malcolm tantalises us as to the purpose – but given it’s revealed in the publicity, I can say a bag full of money becomes a key catalyst for how their revitalised relationship proceeds.

A swift and dramatic scene change takes us to Heather’s home, spectacularly adorned with framed displays of colourful butterflies, grey spiders and the most prized specimen: a Tarantula Hawk; a spider wasp that preys on tarantulas. Hence the name of the play. Pay attention to the details of what this wasp does as it informs the deep-set essence of what forms the inescapable bond between Heather and Carla. Other details are also intriguing, like Heather’s fluffy slippers.

Production Designer, Meg Rollandi, assisted by Kate Carrington and Sophie Forsyth, conspire with Lighting Designer Jane Hakaraia, Composer Emi Pogoni and Operator Tim Jansen to keep our senses alert, as what is essentially an increasingly layered, complex and jack-knifing two-way conversation plays out.

Miriama McDowell and Bree Peters inhabit their roles utterly, variously compelling our judgement and empathy at every twist and turn. The psychology is profound, exploring territory we can all relate to in ways that make this thriller truly gripping. They traverse a full spectrum of emotions with total conviction – and the question of who could be convicted of what, exactly, or what would be a just outcome, keeps our brains buzzing long after the final blackout.

In his programme note, Director Sam Snedden generously credits his “exceptional collaborators. Especially Bree and Miriama who continue to surprise and delight me with acting choices that are always better than the ones I thought of for them.” I can only echo his conclusion that “their performances are unmissable.”

Given the universality of the human story, the decision to relocate this British play in New Zealand (and replace smoking with vaping)  is entirely valid. Apart from allowing the actors to use their own authentic voices, it confronts us with the reality that ‘class’ is also rife in New Zealand.

Probably best known for Emilia, her brilliant feminist revisiting of Shakespeare’s England – directed at the pop-up Globe in Auckland by Miriama McDowell – Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s extensive writing credits for stage and screen date back to 2007 and include a lot of pantomimes. Her range is clearly eclectic. The Wasp premiered at Hampstead Theatre in 2015 and is currently being made into a film – but don’t wait for that, this is the production to see.

The Wasp is one of those play ideas that would delight any playwright and will also make them wince because now it’s been done so no-one else can do it. It truly is unmissable – yet unpredictable.
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