⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Four Stars)

Set within a family home in 1980s Armagh, Northern Ireland - which, over the course of one evening, goes from pristine and sparkling-clean to destroyed and blood-covered - Crocodile Fever depicts the reunion of two estranged sisters and the unlikely, hilarious, and gory damage they inflict. While The Troubles engulf the world outside and British troops threaten to raid civilians’ homes at any moment, we see the sisters fight back against the abusive power within their lives in this darkly comedic play written by (and starring) Meghan Tyler and directed by Arcola Theatre’s artistic director, Mehmet Ergen.

We’re first introduced to Alannah (Rachael Rooney), the tightly wound and devoutly religious of the two sisters, as she meticulously scrubs the oven hob with a toothbrush until it shines. She’s the quintessential “good girl”, with one kitchen cupboard filled with colour-coded cleaning supplies and another stocked with her stash of emotional-support Tayto crisps (also found on sale in the Arcola Theatre bar). Rooney is outstanding in her characterisation of Alannah: each movement she makes is sharp and precise, as if relaxing for a moment would mess up the carefully constructed world around her. This contrasts brilliantly with the Alannah we see later in the story, after she has consumed several (very generously poured) gin and tonics.

Alannah is left clutching her rosary beads as her prodigal IRA-member sister, Fianna (Meghan Tyler), returns home after eleven years, smashing back into her life uninvited and through the kitchen window. In contrast to the prim and proper Alannah, Tyler captures Fianna’s chaotic and reckless energy, and the duo are delightfully polar opposite to each other. After copious amounts of rum and gin are introduced to the mix and Fianna learns that the sisters’ abusive father (Stephen Kennedy) is lying paralysed in the bedroom upstairs, the pair unite in their abhorrence for him and - inspired by a tribal ritual in which evil crocodiles are killed, skinned, and eaten to combat their wickedness - take great pleasure in brutally murdering him in retribution for the harm he has caused them.

As the play progresses, it becomes increasingly unhinged, surreal, and absurd. Alannah and Fianna, drunk on alcohol and the thrill of the violence they’re unleashing, get legless. As does their father, albeit in a different sense of the word, as the sisters take a chainsaw to him. Despite the gory and violent premise, the tone of Tyler’s writing and Ergen’s direction is comedic and tongue-in-cheek: characters scold, “Don’t be so dramatic!” while waving a hacked-off foot around, and the amputation of limbs is described as “a great bit of craic”.

Performed in traverse, with a bank of audience members on either side of the stage, Merve Yörük’s set design effectively captures both the immaculate, orderly 1980s home at the start of the play and the blood-soaked chaos it becomes by the end. Crocodile Fever also incorporates puppetry (designed by Rachael Canning) on an impressive scale considering the size of the playing space, heightening the surreal tone of the play despite some unfortunate sound issues on press night.

Overall, Crocodile Fever wickedly funny and incredibly entertaining, satisfying the season-appropriate taste for goriness without the scariness of a traditional horror play.

Crocodile Fever runs at Arcola Theatre until 22nd November 2025.

Tickets Available Here