POSSUM TROT
- Nicole Kent
- Nov 26
- 2 min read
By Nicole Kent
Possum Trot at the Tabard Theatre — A Warm, Wistful Glimpse into Small-Town Lives
In Possum Trot, Kathy Rucker takes us to a fading Midwestern town, and places Maxine (Sarah Berger) at its centre: a widow, diner proprietor and reluctant town mayor. Around her gathers a family caught between grief, financial strain, and shifting hopes for the future. Pru (Dani Arlington) and her husband Jeremiah (Nikolas Salmon) run a farm on the brink, and their scenes together capture the tenderness and tension of a couple fraying under pressure.Their daughter Billie (Neve Francis), glued to her phone and dreaming of art school in Los Angeles, embodies the collision between rural-rooted upbringing and digital-age aspirations.
Berger brings Maxine to life with a beautifully understated performance, blending humour, exhaustion, and a kind of long-held strength that makes Maxine instantly recognisable. Her gradual change from standing still to daring to imagine a new future becomes the play’s emotional heartbeat. Salmon’s portrayal of Jeremiah — a man torn between safeguarding tradition and confronting its costs — carries a particularly affecting depth. Francis gives Billie a sharp, contemporary energy that never tips into caricature.
Among the ensemble, Todd Boyce stands out as Duane, the family’s steadfast neighbour and Maxine’s gentle, long-time admirer. With his mix of charm, heartfelt loyalty, and comic timing, Boyce injects warmth into every scene he enters. Though not technically family, he becomes the play’s most reliable emotional anchor.
Rucker’s writing offers a soft, quietly observant exploration of community: familiar people, familiar dilemmas, and the small but meaningful crossroads that shape a life. Without ever becoming sentimental, the play touches on climate concerns, generational shifts, financial instability, and the fading threads of communal life. Its humour — including the line “Tradition is peer pressure from the dead” — often carries a deeper sting. Yet at times the script takes on more than it can comfortably hold, loading its narrative with storms, personal crises, banking woes, and even airborne livestock. The result is a story whose thematic ambition occasionally overwhelms the character work.
The Tabard’s intimacy provides undeniable strength. Early in the show, lanterns glow against near-darkness, creating an unexpectedly haunting atmosphere. And the design team conjures a diner with a patched-together, timeworn charm — a space that looks as though it has quietly absorbed decades of town gossip and family memories.
Possum Trot leaves a genuine impression. Its compassion for rural communities, its straightforward humour, and its appreciation for people trying to hold on — or let go — resonate long after the curtain falls. Even with a finale lighter than its themes might warrant, ending on one of Duane’s jokes rather than a more substantial moment, the play closes with an undeniable sense of warmth.
💛 12th - 29th, November 2025
💛 Tabard Theatre, 2 Bath Road London W4 1LW
💛 Tickets - £23.50 (booking fee may apply)
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