Ragevan Vasan in The Animal Kingdom. Image: Robert Day

RUBY Thomas’s terrific play about family therapy is another palpable hit for Hampstead’s studio space.

Sam (Ragevan Vasan), a zoology student, has had some sort of breakdown and attempted suicide. Sam’s family is offered six sessions with Daniel (Paul Keating) to try and piece together the fractures and see if they can be healed. Sam, we discover, finds it easier to talk about the swifts and other animals he studies than himself.

His estranged parents are like chalk and cheese. Sam’s mother Rita (Martina Laird) rarely stops talking while his father Tim (Jonathan McGuinness) keeps a surly silence. Not surprisingly his younger sister, 18-year-old Sofia (Ashna Rabheru), feels ignored and resents her brother for taking up so much emotional space.

Naomi Dawson’s long, rectangular therapy room resembles the frame of a greenhouse. We are seated on three sides eavesdropping on the characters though invisible walls. At one end is an imaginary two-way mirror, at the other a calming image of woodland.

Daniel gently persuades the family to listen to one another and accept their differing perspectives and, sometimes, uncomfortable truths. Over the course of 85 minutes we learn that Rita has also suffered from depression and Tim’s reserve is because his family never showed any emotion.

It’s wonderfully acted, riveting to watch and Lucy Morrison’s clever staging means that at the beginning of every therapy session the characters swap seats to have their say and there is always one whose face is partially obscured.

The Animal Kingdom demonstrates how actively listening to others is an important first step towards healing.

Thomas reminds us of the deep emotions that run in us all – what is not said is sometimes just as important as what is voiced – and the masks we adopt in times of stress.

Despite the bleak subject matter, Thomas’s writing is surprisingly warm without being mawkish. There’s light as well as shade in this affecting exploration of a family who have forgotten how to listen.

Astonishingly, this is only Thomas’s second play. I imagine we’ll be hearing a lot more from her.

Until March 26
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