Review: INVISIBLE ME at Southwark Playhouse

Stuart King 11 April, 2026, 18:51

INVISIBLE ME charts the somewhat interconnectedness of three individuals, all of whom are on the cusp of turning 60 and are determined one way or another to demonstrate that there's life in the (nearly) old dog yet, at least before the inevitable and imminent descent into decrepitude.

James Holmes as Jack in Invisible Me at Southwark Playhouse Borough. Photography by Harry Elletson.

First performed at the Bloomsbury Festival back in 2020 as a livestream due to Covid, the play has just begun a run at Southwark Playhouse which continues until 2nd May.

Directed by Scott Le Crass, on a simple set by David Shields, the cast of three include a mousy woman Lynn (Tessa Peake-Jones) whose husband and then mother we learn, have both died, leaving her alone in an empty house. Cleaning it from top to bottom to keep occupied unwittingly ignites in her a love for all things spotless, so she has taken a job — partly due to loneliness — at a local chain hotel as a chambermaid. It is here that one morning she encounters a confident woman sat on the toilet finishing her make-up, long after check-out time. She has clearly been engaged in some sort of sex work and tipping Lynn £50, she hands her a business card and intimates that Lynn could be onto a winner with her looks and on her own terms. After a little online research, this opens up an entirely new world of OnlyFans.

Alec (Kevin N Golding) and Jack (James Holmes) have lived opposite each other for a number of years and have conspicuously avoided any Interaction. The former is a cabbie of Caribbean descent who begins a flirtatious but short-lived fling with a much younger woman. The latter is still grieving the loss of his male partner and despite having misgivings about his looks and appeal, on the advice of his therapist he begins exploring the dizzying world of gay dating apps.

Writer Bren Gosling who himself cuts a dash as a tall and handsome older member of the LGBTQ+ community, was present for opening night. Growing-up on a Norfolk Council Estate in the 1970s, his work tends to focus on the marginalised voices of overlooked individuals and whilst the characters in INVISIBLE ME lean towards stereotype, they are imbued with an observer's natural gift for conveying the humorous and ridiculous in the mundane and everyday.

At the intimate setting of Southwark Playhouse's smaller space, audience proximity plays an essential part in creating atmosphere as the three cast members take it in turns to speak, relaying their circumstances and revealing their personalities in the process. With its all too convenient overlaps and tidy ending the piece may not be about to set the world on fire (there's enough of that happening already!) but INVISIBLE ME possesses oodles of charm and a winning likability which speaks to today's lost disco-generation of less-than-tech-savvy oldies and their determination to soldier-on and assert their right to grab with both hands those moments to enjoy life… while they still can.

Plays 1 hour and 20 minutes straight through.