Belfast Gets the Chills and Hannibal Gets the Applause

5 minutes ago

3 min read

Some nights at the theatre leave you humming a tune. This one leaves you grateful that Hannibal Lecter is somebody else’s problem.

The Silence of the Lambs opened at Belfast’s Grand Opera House last night, where it runs until Saturday 14 November, and it certainly knows how to give an audience the shivers. With superb casting, clever staging and a few genuine jumps along the way, this UK and Ireland touring production makes a very convincing case for bringing the iconic thriller out of the cinema and onto the stage.

Adapted from Thomas Harris’s novel by Gina Gionfriddo and directed by Nikolai Foster, the play follows FBI trainee Clarice Starling as she seeks the help of imprisoned psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter to catch serial killer Buffalo Bill. Naturally, Lecter is not offering a straightforward consultation. There are questions, mind games and rather more tension than you would want from any appointment. Oliver Farnworth plays Agent Jack Crawford, completing a central line-up that brings some familiar television faces into decidedly unfamiliar territory.

For me, the casting is spot-on throughout the entire company. These are characters audiences already know, which brings its own challenge: how do you make them recognisable without simply serving up an impersonation? Thankfully, this cast understands the assignment. There is a real sense that everyone belongs in this unsettling world, and the performances do the work of pulling you into it.

EastEnders and Cabaret star John Partridge takes on Hannibal Lecter, and what I particularly liked was that he does not simply copy Sir Anthony Hopkins’s Oscar-winning performance. You can see the inspiration, but this feels like a role he has studied and made his own. That distinction matters. A familiar character can quickly become a tribute act; Partridge gives us his version of Lecter instead, and the production is all the stronger for it.

Mollie Gallagher, meanwhile, makes a superb professional theatre debut as Clarice Starling.That this is her first professional stage role makes the performance all the more impressive. She proves exactly why she was cast, and why her work in Coronation Street has already earned her several awards. Taking on such a recognisable character is hardly the gentlest introduction to theatre, but she more than rises to it. If she chooses to continue down this path, I genuinely think we are watching the start of something special. Then there is Sam Jackson as Buffalo Bill, who supplies the sort of stage presence that makes your skin crawl. His use of his frame and movement is wonderfully menacing, creeping around the stage in a way that keeps the character deeply unsettling. Add in some particularly effective special-effects props and there are moments that make your whole body shudder. I will spare you the details: some things are best discovered from your seat, preferably with your nerves firmly braced.

The staging, lighting and effects are superb. Projections, moving scenery and cleverly deployed bursts of blinding light make the scene changes feel slick rather than cumbersome. There is plenty happening technically, but it serves the atmosphere rather than distracting from it. The 80s and 90s music during those transitions adds a welcome hit of nostalgia, too. It is a clever reminder of the story’s era, even if getting comfortable is not exactly what this production has in mind.

Story-wise, it stays pretty close to the film, but it is not a scene-for-scene carbon copy, and personally I liked that. It needs to exist as its own piece of theatre, not just recreate a multi-award-winning movie. I have always thought thrillers are difficult to pull off on stage: everything is so open to the audience, with nowhere for a camera to direct your attention. Here, though, the cast and creative team work that magic. The intensity comes through, and the jumps and gasps around the auditorium suggest I was not alone in feeling it.

The entire cast received a thoroughly deserved standing ovation on opening night. Partridgeseemed genuinely blown away by the response, encouraging the applause before bowing with his palms pressed together, looking humble and thankful. It was a lovely final moment after such an unsettling evening. My verdict? A gripping, brilliantly performed production that earns its place on stage. Belfast has only until Saturday to catch it, so if a theatre trip with a few extra shivers appeals, this is well worth booking.

The Silence of the Lambs runs at the Grand Opera House, Belfast, from 10–14 November 2026.

Recommended for ages 15+; under-16s must be accompanied by an adult. Check the venue’s content guidance before booking.

For tickets and more information, visit www.goh.co.uk.