Home, Im Darling
by Laura Wade
The Caxton Players
Caxton Theatre,
Grimsby
9 - 16 September 2023
Stephen Labourne's production of Home, I'm Darling is a triumph, and you would be crazy to miss it. The play, written by Laura Wade is a real theatrical tour de force from the Caxton Players and is certain to prove a hit with its audience. On the surface, it is a lightweight comedy but at its heart are themes of angst, abandonment and inadequacy. And yet the look and feel of the play is a delight which will entertain all who see it.
The basic premise is simple. The scene is an idyllic, picture perfect 1950s home occupied by Judy and Johnny. The curtains open and we hear the strains of 1950s music playing as Judy, the model housewife of 1958 dances with gay abandon whilst going about her chores, with a smile on her face, perfectly coiffed hair and a small pinafore to prevent any dirt making its way onto her wonderfully chosen period dress. Johnny descends the stairs in his regulation shirt and tie, all ready for breakfast, lovingly prepared by his wife. They are the perfect couple in a perfect home. Life is bliss. And yet, it is not 1958, it is the modern world of today and Judy and Johnny have chosen to live by a creed of "everything 1950s". Johnny goes out to work for an estate agent and is about to get a promotion and Judy stays home and keeps house perfectly. They are blissfully happy, or so it would seem. We meet their friends, fellow 1950s enthusiasts, Fran and Marcus who also enjoy the lifestyle whilst not quite embracing it as closely as Judy and Johnny. It is not until we meet Sylvia, Judy's mother, that we really start to learn the reality of their slightly oddball life choices. The final character in the play is Alex, a female Alex, who is Johnny's new boss that he is eager to impress.
In this production from the Caxton Players, Stephen Labourne deftly leads his cast through the intricacies of the script and draws many of the subtle nuances out of their performances, exquisitely. In her first leading role, Amy Wilson is excellent as Judy. She is the picture of rosy optimism and contentment, living a lifestyle that her activist mother (Vivienne Sargent) thoroughly disapproves of. She looks gorgeous in the wonderful array of 1950s clothing, each a feast for the eyes and her performance does not disappoint. We begin to see the facade slip and the faux smile crack as the realities of modern life begin to clash with the perfection of her dream life because try as they may to ignore the fact, this is not the 1950s and the world has moved on. She explores Judy's insecurities and fortitude marvellously and performs in the bulk of scenes throughout. There are very few times when Judy is not attending to her home life.
Her devoted husband Johnny is played by Stewart Dodds, who manages to match his co-star's deliberately mannered performance note for note. Dodds is a big presence on stage and from the outset, one wonders what is going through Johnny's mind as it is clear that his words and actions are not in synch with what is really driving his character. Johnny is far from successful in his role at the estate agents and is under pressure to perform if he is to win the promotion he so desperately needs. Through his pauses and silences, behind the cheerful persona Dodds succeeds in making, what could be a one- or two-dimensional character, very much a three-dimensional and credible character. Whilst drawing the ire of the modern feminist, Johnny is acutely aware of how his wife's acquiescence must look to external observers and is growing more and more uncomfortable with their roles. It is a masterly performance from Dodds. As a couple Wilson and Dodds succeed in drawing both sympathy and exasperation from their audience.
As Sylvia, Judy's mother we see Vivienne Sarget in truly rebellious mode. Sylvia is a mother who will never go gently into that good night, she is more likely to go kicking and screaming and raging at the inequity. Sargent gives one of her best performances as the long-suffering mother whose own activism drove a wedge between mother and daughter but, as we later learn, for very good reason. Sylvia's scene in the second act is wonderfully moving as she tries to get through to her daughter.
Judy's best friend and confidante is played with relish by Alison Stretton who is clearly loving the period feel and also looks fabulous in costume. Our first glimpse of Fran is not in a scene, but rather in between scenes as Stretton struts and bops across the stage gleefully changing scenery and clearing up between scenes. This is a device that works effectively for the most part but every now and them might throw the audience a little. Stretton is wife to Marcus played by Michael Howard. Her relationship with her husband is curious, in that they clearly love each other but he drives her to despair which Stretton clearly demonstrates. She, like Judy loves the fifties and just like Judy, is willing to overlook her partners shortcomings in search of a quiet life. Howard, as Marcus also appears to be enjoying his role within the play and really manages to set the audience on edge with his attitudes at times. He will be someone the audience loves to hate - as they rightly should. I last saw Howard in the local film Knott the Line of Duty and also in Snow White-ish with Class Act adults. It is good to see him getting his teeth into a more substantial role since joining the Caxton Players.
Rounding out the cast, is an actress I know very well having worked with her myself when I used to help run Caxton Youth Theatre. Returning after a significant gap, Gemma Quickfall is perfectly cast as Alex, the no-nonsense manager Johnny is so keen to impress. She is doing her best to fit in to a new job with the firm and is attempting to walk a fine line between being a friend and management, a delineation that Quickfall draws with great skill. It is hardly any wonder that Judy begins to feel insecure in Alex's presence as she represents everything Judy was before making the choice to become a perfect 1950s housewife. Quickfall ensures that her character is seen as firm, but non-threatening. She is oblivious to the impact her presence has on the dynamic between Judy and Johnny.
The set in this play is a visual delight, it is bright, colourful and probably far from the reality of austere, post-War Britain, and yet retro enough to persuade the audience they ARE in the 1950s and great credit must go to everyone involved in helping to create this world. Everywhere you look on stage there are wonderful little period touches from the magazines in the rack, to the cigarette boxes, from the glass bottle for the milk to the vintage packets into which Judy decants modern variants of the food stuff she purchases.
Enhancing the feel of the 50s is the soundtrack. Labourne does not reach for the typical rock 'n' roll standards that have become tired cliches in 1950s pastiche work. Here we are treated to some wonderful songs from the pre-Beatles era of music which preceded the British Beat Explosion from 1963 onwards. I love a bit of Joe Meek-produced British rock 'n' roll which would feature session musicians who went on to become some of rock's most respected artists and Telstar fits perfectly into the world of Home, I'm Darling. Stage management also have their work cut out supplying a mountain of food throughout the play, which made me feel quite peckish at times!
I cannot recommend this production highly enough. It demonstrates what heights the Caxton Players are capable of scaling when they really set their minds to the task. I am really looking forward to seeing this play's reception over the coming week.
Andy Evans 9 September 2023
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