Home, I’m Darling! – Sheffield Lyceum

Clever, humorous, warm – Laura Wade’s Olivier-award winning comedy Home, I’m Darling! appropriately leans into the mythologised tonal tropes of the 1950’s. Jessica Ransom, Neil McDermott, Matthew Douglas, Cassie Bradley and Shanez Pattni all excel in this fun and fresh text.

Despite its comedic sensibilities, oftentimes Wade’s piece translates better as a drama than a comedy. Of course, the two are not mutually exclusive, but Wade’s commentary is at its best and most biting when it’s polemical and astute. Feminism is often framed expertly against the backdrops of 1950’s nostalgic delusion, #MeToo, gender roles and even against itself when the validity of feminism is questioned (if feminism is about making choices, is the choice to play a role that supports patriarchy still feminism as it is an independent woman’s choice?). Furthermore, on the front of comedy and drama, the comedy never seems to occupy the spaces of danger that the drama is willing to go. There is a cute aside by Judy in her private moment with Marcus that is the exception, but beyond this I can’t help but feel the humour, whilst, importantly, is funny of course, it also feels incredibly tame in the face of brazen social commentary. It’s inoffensive, and fortunately it gets away with it enough to not make itself offensive. Having said that, the piece is not burdened by its subject matter and is light, watchable and fun – and for all my criticisms about humour not biting, it takes no merit from the humour present, and tonally it is a piece that is very in tune with itself and knows exactly what it is, and for this it must be commended.

Tamara Harvey and Hannah Noone’s direction is solid, the emotional journey of the characters and the overarching emotional journey is very well understood and paced out. It helps when your cast are great, but it is admirable that it is so demonstrably obvious the directors and cast have an exceptionally clear understanding of where the emotion lies, where to play it and when, and how to carry the tension of the drama beneath the light-hearted doziness of Judy’s fantasy world. However, frustratingly the transitions between scenes, although there was a clear sense of motif being alluded to, operated as invitations to disengage. Whilst pretty, the choreographed dances offered very little, seemed to drag too long and if anything highlighted the static nature of the plays visuals. Anna Fleischle’s set is gorgeous, and plays to the tune of that shimmering, chrome 1950’s pomp – but it is also shallow, in the literal sense of the word, ironically, and lacking depth, which restricts Harvey and Noone in their staging. This does not hinder the work enormously but did leave a little to be desired.

Home, I’m Darling! is a piece that has strong a strong emotional current, an intelligent socio-political sensibility and a whimsically warm sense of humour that is worth the night out.

Reviewer: Nathan Dunn

Reviewed: 18th April 2022      

North West End UK Rating: ★★★★