⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Four Stars)

Mike Bartlett’s Juniper Blood, directed by James Macdonald, is an intriguing state-of-the-nation play that brings rarely heard voices to the stage: those of British farmers reckoning with the future of their land, their livelihoods, and agriculture’s place in a changing world. Running at 2 hours 40 minutes with two intervals, Juniper Blood’s length may daunt at first glance, but the three-act structure proves justified, giving space for Bartlett’s thought-provoking and often funny script to breathe and for the audience to reflect between each distinct act.

The first act unfolds deliberately, and at times a little slowly, as Bartlett lays the groundwork for the ideological and personal conflicts to come. On Ruth (Hattie Morahan) and Lip’s (Sam Troughton) farm, discussions of sustainable farming practices collide. The arrival of Ruth’s self-absorbed former step-daughter Milly (Nadia Parkes) and her friend Femi (Terique Jarrett), an Oxford-bound agriculture scholar, sets the stage for generational and cultural clashes. Femi’s critique of pesticide use sparks the first in a series of heated confrontations, with Jonathan Slinger’s Tony embodying both the traditions and vulnerabilities of the farming community.

It is in the second act that the play really finds its rhythm. Slinger delivers a deeply affecting portrait of grief, loneliness, and anxiety about the future, while Troughton gives an impassioned speech that culminates in him, having already symbolically smashed his mobile phone, proposing that he and Ruth take a radical leap into off-grid living. Morahan, meanwhile, anchors the play here, as Ruth is forced to confront the growing rift between her own pragmatism and Lip’s fervent idealism. The third act pushes these conflicts to their conclusion, exploring both the allure and the practicality of escaping capitalism entirely, while raising uncomfortable questions about the privilege required to attempt such a life.

ULTZ’s set design is striking: real grass and soil bring the countryside indoors, lending the production an earthy authenticity (albeit with more bugs and flying insects in the auditorium than you might usually expect!). Jo Joelson’s lighting and Helen Skiera’s sound design complement this naturalism, their understated textures of daylight and birdsong giving way at one point to an electrifying thunderstorm that mirrors one of the characters’ inner turmoil.

There are moments when Juniper Blood feels heavy-handed with its ideas, and the opening act’s pace, combined with the overall length of the play, may test some audiences. Yet this is a richly considered, beautifully acted play that balances family drama with urgent, big-picture questions about sustainability, responsibility, and how we imagine the future of the planet we live on.

Juniper Blood runs at Donmar Warehouse until 4th October 2025.

Tickets Available Here