John is bleak, almost unbearably so.

It has an opening sequence of relentless demonstrable human depravity enough to make a Jeremy Kyle researcher wince.

This is the latest hard-hitting piece of theatre from the master of aesthetic controversy – Lloyd Newson.

With the scales tipped firmly in the favour of gritty dramatic realism John glibly exposes domestic violence, adolescent psychosis, child abuse, drug dependency and the whole spectrum of human demise.

However it manages to be simultaneously abhorrent and absolutely captivating.

Treading the tightrope of acceptability, alienating the audience to the extreme and then rescuing them with humour and the promise of visceral visual rewards; this exceptional production more than compensates for its darkest content.

As per always Newson’s company are masters of every craft. With extraordinary physical prowess, the company have an ability to dramatise the densest verbatim dialogue, illuminated with profound yet humorous choreography, scatter-bombing charm into scene after scene.

The set, a stunning revolve choreographed intrinsically into the show, is functional, slick and utilitarian; a visual manifestation of the revolving turmoil of the human situation inherent in the real John’s and many other’s struggles.

While this may well be an over-extrapolation it’s near impossible not to want to cheer-lead John on from the side.