Watching Scenes from a Marriage is in many respects akin to being psychologically abused, such is the impact of the play and the text upon the unsuspecting listener. Can human beings really behave this way to each other, particularly to the person who is closest to them? Can they be this ruthless and cruel, lacking empathy, tenderness or love within a relationship that had once seemed near-perfect? We know such behaviour to be true from examining any abusive relationship, but the rawness and pain of this piece of theatrical reality punches hard and perhaps asks more questions than it answers.

Marta Dusseldorp and Ben Winspear. Photograph © Rob Maccol

Joanna Murray-Smith’s adaptation for the stage of Ingmar Bergman’s celebrated 1970’s television miniseries slices through a seemingly idyllic marriage to uncover not just cracks but disturbing and deep-seated animosity, even hatred.  So confronting was the original mini-series when it was first screened that divorce rates in Sweden almost doubled within a year.

Murray-Smith’s play is cleverly and wittily written with some great one-liners that predominantly roll off the tongue of the main protagonist, Johan (Ben Winspear). He is married to Marianne (Marta Dusseldorp). They both...