'End' review — Clive Owen and Saskia Reeves are tremendous in this heartfelt, deeply affecting play

Read our review of David Eldridge's End, now in performances at the National Theatre to 17 January 2026.

Summary

• David Eldridge premieres the final play in his trilogy at the National Theatre following Beginning and Middle
• End follows middle-aged couple Alfie and Julie as they face a devastating medical diagnosis
• Clive Owen and Saskia Reeves are tremendous in this intimate and deeply moving character study

What does it mean to have a good end? That is the all-important question driving David Eldridge’s gorgeously heartfelt new play, but also something of a meta query. This is the last piece in his trilogy, as well as the aptly named swansong for the National’s now-former artistic director, Rufus Norris.

End works beautiful on all counts. For those who saw Eldridge’s previous plays, Beginning (2017) and Middle (2022), there are plenty of enjoyable echoes: this is another real-time two-hander examining a relationship with humour and pathos, set in the worlds of Essex and north London, featuring West Ham, music and awkward dancing. But it’s also an extremely affecting standalone piece.

Clive Owen and Saskia Reeves play middle-aged couple Alfie and Julie. Alfie, who has terminal cancer, informs his dismayed partner that he’s decided to stop treatment. Over 90 minutes, the pair argue about how best to deal with his impending end, while also sifting through both fond and painful memories.

Rachel O’Riordan’s production feels richly lived-in right from the start. Pounding house music abruptly cuts out as the lights come up on the couple’s tasteful open-plan Crouch End house (spot-on design by Gary McCann). It’s an encapsulation of how these former 90s ravers – Alfie was a big-time DJ – have moved into a different phase of life. Both seek to reconnect with their younger selves through music, as Alfie semi-jokingly chooses acid house bangers for his funeral and they recall blissed-out nights on the dancefloor.

Eldridge juxtaposes tough topics and wrenching emotions with domesticity and earthy humour. Alfie grumbles that he doesn’t want to wind up in nearby Highgate Cemetery “with Karl fucking Marx”, while in perhaps the most British running gag ever, Julie keeps attempting to make a soothing cup of tea.

The piece builds out a world beyond their home and this one morning, from their “square” daughter Annabel (Alfie compares her with Saffy from Ab Fab) and knotty relationships with their own parents to their dual artistic passions. Julie became a writer later in life, and now has ambitions to venture beyond her commercially successful crime novels.

Both actors are tremendous. Owen viscerally conveys the exhausted frustration of this energetic man being confined to a failing body – Alfie struggles to walk, aided by a cane – but also takes pride in creating “fleeting moments of joy” through music. An extraordinary Reeves cycles through the desperate stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining) while also hinting at Julie’s reserves of strength.

Together, they create such intimacy that you almost have to look away. Julie quietly rubbing moisturiser into Alfie’s hands and feet speaks volumes about their lifetime together, and how she is choosing to face this final challenge with him. Eldridge could do with leaving more space for such exchanges – there are a few too many florid speeches and over-worked metaphors – but this is tender, compassionate drama.

End is at the National Theatre to 17 January 2026. Book End tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: End (Photos by Marc Brenner)