How well do you really know your neighbours? In the small town where I grew up, I would have answered that I knew my neighbours pretty well, especially when I was younger and us kids would all play together outside when the weather was nice. But now that I live in a big city, I can tell you the names of only 2 of the countless people who live in my building. Whether you live in an apartment building or on a cozy cul-de-sac, can you really ever truly know your neighbours? Nicolas Billon’s The Neighbours asks us to consider this question, and many more, with a twisty tale of heartbreak, second-guessing, and guilt. Directed by Matt White, The Neighbours is one of this season’s must-see productions.
When you enter the theatre, Kelly Wolf’s set is already a feast for the eyes – a little puzzle you can put together as you wait for the action to begin. Hanging above the playing space is a deconstructed house: chunks of what would make your stereotypical suburban house with multiple floors and lots of windows, and a sturdy roof. The floor is a map of Stanley Court, a once quiet street which has suddenly become infamous. There’s a house outlined in red, while the rest sit peacefully along side it. Two living rooms are established on either side of the stage, and this is where we meet the Armstrong family and their neighbour, Au Yeung Wei.
Photo by Jae Yang
A few months ago, something terrible was discovered on Stanley Court: one of their neighbours had kidnapped and had been harbouring a young girl for 12 years. Immediately, questions begin to plague the neighbourhood: did we miss something? How could we not have noticed? Despite multiple questionings from the police and the media, Simon and Denise Armstrong are sure that they couldn’t have possibly known that their daughter’s schoolmate was trapped in the house right next to them. As they recount the stories of that day and the months which have followed, Simon and Denise begin to unravel more and more information. Were they truly utterly unaware of what was happening next door? Or were there signs right in front of them they simply didn’t see?
Photo by Jae Yang
For me, The Neighbours was like this beautiful synthesis between Emma Donoghue’s novel “Room” and Alecky Blythe and Adam Cork’s play London Road. Like London Road, The Neighbours is told from the perspectives of the onlookers, the folks who were impacted by what happened on their street, though not directly involved. And while we never get to directly hear the perspective of the young lady who was kidnapped, the accounts we do get via a magazine article immediately brought “Room” to the front of my mind. Yet The Neighbours is a story unto itself, and beautifully crafted by Billon; when the lights were going down all I could think was that I wanted to hear more: I wanted to know Mr. Au Yeung’s perspective, to know what he’d seen and how he’s been coping. I also wanted to know how Simon and Denise’s daughter Sophie was going to react to the potentially earth-shattering news her father had to tell her. The direct address certainly helps in this – they’ve been talking to us for ninety minutes, you feel invested in their struggles and what they’re going through. Each revelation for them is one for the audience as well, and it left me craving to know and hear more from these intriguing characters.
Photo by Jae Yang
Mr. Au Yeung’s role in The Neighbours is a fascinating one. Portrayed by Richard Tse, Mr. Au Yeung sits to the side, reading his book and drinking his tea throughout the performance. Occasionally he’ll get up, usually along with Denise on her side of the stage, but for the most part he exists totally separately from the main action we’re witnessing on the opposite side of the space. Yet he’s also mirroring a performance art piece which we’re told about by the Armstrongs, where he had a puppet doing the exact same things as he’s doing now. Was Mr. Au Yeung somehow used as a puppet by his neighbour? Or did this performance art genuinely reflect his own every day life?
Photo by Jae Yang
Ordena Stephens-Thompson and Tony Nappo give heartrending and emotionally charged performances as Denise and Simon. Stephens-Thompson has such an honesty and openness about her character, and yet you can feel that’s she’s carrying many burdens on her own. Nappo’s Simon is like that Uncle who you know will go off about anything vaguely political and you try not to react to his racist jokes in the hopes that he’ll stop – Simon is that guy. But Nappo treads this beautiful line between the traditional strong father figure and a man whose emotions and guilt are eating him from the inside out. Both Stephens-Thompson and Nappo had tears in their eyes by the end of the performance, much like the rest of us in the audience.
The Neighbours is an intimate look at our relationships with the people who live close to us. What does it mean to be a good neighbour? Does it mean helping a little girl home who’s crashed her bike or not questioning someone’s weird new hobby? Though The Neighbours purposefully leaves these questions unanswered, it will certainly have you rethinking how you interact with your own neighbours and what it means to be a part of a community.
The Neighbours runs in the Tarragon Extraspace until March 15. For more information and tickets, visit: https://tarragontheatre.com/plays/2025-2026/the-neighbours/
Cover Photo: Ordena Stephens-Thompson and Tony Nappo. Photo by Jae Yang.
Thank you to my Patrons:
Natalia, Steve, Brendan, Deborah, Eleanor
And to my supporters who’ve bought me a coffee:
Angelica and Paul, Anonymous, Adrianna, Caitlin, Jonathan, Jada, and Courtney
Would you like to become a Patron? Check out my Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/AViewfromtheBox
Or, you can buy me a coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/aviewfromthebox
A View from the Box 