The shadow of war and exile hangs over the young man at the centre of this empathetic drama

For those who have lived in a bedsit, Michael Hastings’ semi-autobiographical drama will bring back memories. The late Jewish playwright was only 18 when the play premiered in 1956, so it is perhaps his identification with his troubled 15-year-old hero Sammy that makes the boy's tense uncertainty feel so authentic.

This is rather more than teenage angst, though. Sammy Kirz (Eddie Boyce) and his father and stepmother (his mother died giving birth to him) are Jewish Hungarian refugees from Nazi Europe. Sammy was brought up by an aunt in Croydon, south London, but he's about to start as a tailor’s apprentice, so when the play opens he's just moved in with his father Leo (Paul Rider), an older parent he hardly knows, and rather younger stepmother Shani (Nathalie Barclay). They live in a Brixton rooming house, where the landings are uneasily shared with an assortment of other lodgers. Set designer Alex Marker cleverly captures the idea of those shared spaces and lack of privacy on a set of revealing windows and stairways. The upstairs neighbours are an eccentric mother and daughter, Mrs Pond (Alix Dunmore) and Suki (Nell Williams). They are possessed of a certain glamour, especially evident in their flamboyant wardrobe, but it's somewhat diminished by their apparent paranoia and suspicions about their neighbours and any visitors – and Mrs Pond’s extravagant fantasies about a succession of husbands.

They may be onto something, however, for George (Timothy O’Hara), a bookie and the other lodger on the same floor as the Kirz household, is a bold example of toxic masculinity and barely hides that he’s getting it on with Shani. It's hardly surprising then that Leo is a figure of anger, who cannot empathise with the son who needs him, and the stage seems set for confrontation and conflagration. Under the circumstances, is it a good move for Shani to invite the local rabbi to tea to meet Sammy? She thinks the teenager shows a keen interest in his Jewish heritage and hopes the rabbi will help him come to terms with all that entails.

Amid the emotional turmoil, there is one warm, expansive presence – landlady Mrs Miller, who is played with vivid gusto by Sue Kelvin. Dressed in overalls and a headscarf, she is the hardworking, homely, practical housekeeper (and peacekeeper).

When the much anticipated rabbi arrives to a laden tea table, can he cut through the tension and support Sammy? Nicholas Day’s empathetic Rabbi does indeed look as if he might help restore the boy's equilibrium.

Although the play runs a little slowly at times, there is no doubt that director Tricia Thorns skilfully and sensitively marshals the plot and the action. Every actor is well cast and gives of their best, too, but the standout is undoubtedly the professional debut of Boyce, whose riveting, almost heartbreaking performance as the tortured Sammy is a privilege to witness.

By Judi Herman

Photos by Phil Gammon

Don’t Destroy Me runs until Saturday 3 February. 7.30pm, 3.30pm (Sat only). From £10. The Arcola Theatre, E8 3DL. arcolatheatre.com