Home. Caxton Theatre, Grimsby. 07 March 2026

Well, after an extended break from reviewing to have yet another knee replaced, I visited the Caxton Theatre to see their latest offering, Home by David Storey directed by Michael Mayne. This is a play which is quite remarkable, having had it's premiere in 197- at the Royal Court Theatre, starring John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson. At the time it proved divisive, dealing with issues of mental health decades before it became something that is now a staple discussion in society. Storey provides an excellent foundation for the discussion of how mental health issues are dealt with and cared for in this gentle play with a bite.

Mayne has settled for a set, not dissimilar to that employed by the original production, that is simple in design and yet highly effective in offering a focal point that demands the audience's attention at all times and the tiling on the floor really manages to pull focus on stage to the two garden chairs and a table situated centrally, upon which most of the action occurs.

The play offers superb roles to a group of experienced players, who joyously take up the ball and run with it so to speak. The dialogue is lengthy and sometimes confusing, but to a degree it is meant to be disarming and to create a sense of confusion for those witnessing the dialogue as it trips, richly, off the actors' tongues. I want to try my best to avoid spoilers in my review. I want audiences to figure out what is happening in real time, rather than sit waiting for, and expecting, certain things to occur. There is a pleasure in picking up on cues and clues in this clever play.

The play begins with the urbane Norman Dunnington entering as Harry, entering and taking up is seat at the table to read his newspaper in a quiet moment of reflection, as he fastidiously picks away the lint or cotton that has attached itself loosely to his clothing. Dunnington gives a measured performance of a man, later in life, experiencing some marital disquiet and yet seeking to overcome the sense of loss it brings.

His situation here is something of a contrast to his "partner-in-crime", Jack, played ably by Mike Wilson. Their rather formal clipped exchanges of dialogue are not without wit and humour but always veer on the side of propriety and good manners, though both take a delight in judging others at a distance as they take the air at their home. Wilson portrays a somewhat more emotional and slightly confused gent who comes from a large family but has made something of himself in life through guile and ingenuity.

Their female counterparts couldn't provide a more different picture of class and appropriate behaviour. First we see the bellicose Marjorie payed by Marie Barker, who, in character, bears more than a passing resemblance to the giant of English soap,June Brown, better known by her character Dot Cotton. Marjorie is not taken in by the airs and graces of the two aforementioned gentlemen and sees their emotional outbursts as a sign of weakness and an indicator of their true character.

Barker's Marjorie strikes a wonderful physical contrast to her best friend, Kathleen. Whereas Marjorie is tall, angular and pessimistic to the point of aggression, Kathleen is rater small, silly, somewhat girlish and flirtatious. As Kathleen, Anita Britta Sorensen really steps out of her comfort zone after many years performing at the Caxton Theatre. Sorenson brings the complex Kathleen a sense of cheeky, child-like wonder and yet an underlying, disturbing menace at times.

Each character in this quartet seems to have issues bubbling away under the surface but none truly compare with Alfred, played by Carl Wingate. Alfred definitely seems to relish the attention he is able to gain on stage through stillness and a quiet silence. He is menacing and yet also youthfully naive in his portrayal. The photos of Alfred hoisting garden furniture into the air, used in early publicity, are never truly explained and the audience is left to try to figure out what has driven the man to behave in such a bizarre fashion.

The play has sometimes been compared to the work of Pinter, or to Waiting For Godot, and it is not hard to see why but Storey fails to truly hit the heights of these in his work here and should perhaps have been flattered by the comparison. However, I suspect that he simply wanted to create a play that carries an air of mystery in which interacting stories cross and though written at a time when such plays were fashionable, he was very much determined to create his own story to intrigue and to draw audiences into a particular world that they question and yet he never provides the answers to every question, leaving much to audience interpretation. It will be interesting to see what Caxton audiences make of such a cerebral play and whether they buy into the gentle, back humour contained within.

Home by David Storey is being performed at the Caxton Theatre in Grimsby from 07 March - 14 March at 7:30pm and tickets are available through normal sources and are also available on the door.

Andy Evans 07 March 2026