Home, I'm Darling!

This is a new comedy by Laura Wade who grew-up in Sheffield and has many credits to her name. She would be very proud of Tudor Players’ performance of this thought-provoking play. It was very well presented and with a complicated script the talented cast worked extremely well together. They all gave excellent performances, characterisations and facial expressions, great diction, and clarity of speech. It was all delivered with an impressive pace and brilliantly directed by a new and up-and-coming director, Joe Gascoyne-Thompson.

It was obvious from the start that a lot of research had gone into this production. The set, props and outfits, especially those of the ladies, all perfectly mirrored a middle-class home of the 1950’s, complete with a perfect housewife, beautifully dressed and keeping the home spick-and span. The husband’s meal was on the table as he came home from work, just as it was portrayed in the magazines of 1950’s. If we, the audience, thought that this was the period of the whole production, we were in for a surprise; especially when a laptop was introduced (very clever). It became clear that Judy was living in a fantasy world, looking through rose-tinted glasses, while giving up a career to become the perfect 1950’s housewife but not wanting anything to do with today’s world.

However, things were not what they seemed in the home of Judy and Johnny. Johnny was getting fed-up of living in this kind of environment and having to wear a suit to match the era, not getting a promotion at work and with Judy’s over-spending leaving them in debt. There were many understandings such as accusations that Johnny was having an affair with his female boss. Throughout the play we watched a roller-coaster ride of emotions from this couple ranging from a full-blown argument, complete with real tears from Judy to scenes of love. Siobhan Hible’s performance as Judy was superb and the only time she left the stage was to change into one of her numerous new outfits, all perfectly suiting each occasion. The command and deliverance of speech and dialogue was terrific as was Ross Bannister’s performance as her husband, Johnny. The rapport between these two actors as man and wife was first-class.

Judy is desperate for Johnny to be promoted and so she invites his boss, Alex, to their house for cocktails but it became obvious that Alex was not very comfortable within the ambience of a 1950’s-style home. Alex couldn’t cope with this, and Johnny thought that it made her take the decision not to offer him the promotion. Rhiannon Jones portrayed Alex to perfection.

Danielle Victoria gave a splendid performance as Fran, a friend of Judy, who tried to convince her that living in the 1950’s was the best thing ever. But Fran was not sure that it was for her as she had enough problems of her own. Her husband Marcus was giving her cause for concern as he had been accused of inappropriate behaviour with a member of his staff leading to disagreements as to who to believe. Tommy Jones always gives an excellent performance, and his characterisation of Marcus was no exception.  

Trying to keep the family life of Judy and Johnny on an even keel was Judy’s mother, Sylvia. On several occasions she had arguments with Judy reminding her that she should be living in the real world, and that life in the 1950’s was not as she imagined. Nicky Beards was very impressive as Sylvia delivering a lengthy dialogue to let Judy know that it was a tough life for most families living in the 1950’s. All this was very true and not like it was portrayed in the magazines.

This was not an easy play to produce, with a set comprising of four sections plus a staircase and hall. I lost count of how many drinks, meals and costume changes occurred and it all worked like clockwork. This can only happen after hours of rehearsals and a co-ordinated effort by the director, cast and back-stage crew. A wonderful selection of songs from the era made for a nice trip down memory lane. Well done and congratulations to everyone.

This was yet another exceptional production from Tudor Players. It’s the first time I’d seen this play and it was very good to watch and much enjoyed. Moments of laughter mixed with the more serious is what the play is all about. Thank you for a great evening’s entertainment.

Sue Cox

NODA Region 14

Drama Rep

 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.