HOME – Live Art Alive

The House Party

Adaptation by Laura Lomas

Directed by Holly Race Roughan

HOME MCR

August Strindberg wrote Miss Julie as a naturalistic play in 1888. This classic upstairs/downstairs drama explored themes of class, privilege and aspiration and has been subsequently adapted for stage and screen many times. Almost 150 years on Laura Lomas reimagines the play as The House Party where a group of teenagers gather for a hastily arranged 18th birthday party that unfolds as part wild rave, part a night of heady secrets revealed and part kitchen sink drama…albeit in a very fancy kitchen.

This production sees Artistic Director of Headlong, Holly Race Roughan take the reins in a collaboration with Frantic Assembly. The result is a vibrant, pacey deep delve into youth culture observing what can build strong bonds for teenagers or splinter apart these often fragile relationships. The coupling of these two high calibre theatre companies is a much more successful enterprise than anything achieved by the messy ménage à trois of Julie, Christine and Jon. This production looks great with a clever and sophisticated set design by Loren Elstein and highly impactful lighting by Joshua Pharo and Joseph Hornsby. The riotous party scenes that puncuate the production are beautifully executed by Movement Director Scott Graham from Frantic Assembly. This drives the narrative by both ramping up the tension and vividly illuminating the joy and sense of belonging found on the dance floor.

The House Party cast
Image credit: Ikin Yum.

In this production the three main protagonists are reimagined as Generation Z teenagers who connect over shots and selfies and wield their power through sex and revenge porn. Julie is pretty and privileged and Synnøve Karlsen imbues her with a chameleon quality that allows her to flit between winsome and charming or caustic and loathsome. Weaponising her pain in shocking ways, her capacity to destroy those she loves and sabotage her own happiness is quite the thing to observe. Sesley Hope as Christine is an excellent foil as the best friend from a working class background. Whereas Julie appears quite unhinged by her past trauma, Christine is grounded and much more robust despite her own challenging family background. Tom Lewis is Jon who professes love for Christine but once harboured desire for Julie watching her grow up. He deeply resents her hold on Christine and how he went unnoticed as the son of the family cleaner.

Three teenagers with hopes and aspirations are all equally trapped in their own harmful patterns. Julie only knows how to get attention through destructive behaviours, Christine sabotages her chance to go to Cambridge University and Jon aspires to be a perfect boyfriend yet for all his genuine care he displays callous and misogynistic qualities. All the performers in lead roles give strong and convincing performances though Lomas definitely seems more at home writing authentic female characters.

This punchy drama aims high and is a searing insight into the impact of fast paced, digital culture where lives can be destroyed by simply pressing Send or Share and sentiments are reduced to vacuous soundbites. Unlike the original Miss Julie, this adaptation has a coda which takes place ten years on from the shocking events of the party. I’m unsure how necessary or indeed successful this is as the huge digital clock races forward in time to reveal what happens in the aftermath. As a dramatic device it may have been more effective used as an opener to the production then rewinding back to the party and its explosive sequences.

HOME MCR 25th- 29th March 2025

Tour Dates

Millennial Pink – Work in Progress at PUSH FESTIVAL 2025

Small Theatres

Devised and Performed by Girl Gang Manchester

HOME

Girl Gang Manchester have been around since 2016 making all sorts of work and operating as a collaboration of artists, activists and academics working together to celebrate popular culture and feminist activism. Millennial Pink sees them turn up the volume on the turntable and explore bedroom pop culture and that baptism of fire that is transitioning from girlhood to teenager to young women.

The stage of Theatre 2 at HOME is transformed into a messy teenage bedroom ready for a sleepover and that’s exactly the vibe of this production as the performers snuggle on beds and share stories, break into song and try out synchronised dance moves. The overwhelmingly feelgood factor in this show is the generous and collaborative approach of all the performers on stage and dotted through the audience. If these millennial have learned anything from their experience growing up whether positive or negative it is that we are all better and stronger coming together and supporting each other.

As to be expected from Girl Gang Manchester, this is a production high on audience participation whether it’s reading out cue cards, singing along to karaoke or learning some dance routines. By the end of the show there are a lot of people onstage, myself included as the stage becomes a dance floor for everyone who remembers what it was to be a teenage girl. This is a show high on energy and exuberance that manages to thread the delicate line between celebrating the positives and calling out the slut shamers and the casual misogyny and double standards in our Society without ever sounding preachy. I loved the energy and the passion throughout this production and although the sound needs some tweaks to ensure every performer can be clearly heard, this is a show I would definitely want to see again.

PUSH FESTIVAL 2025 HOME 31st January-1st February 2025

GIRL GANG MCR

LUCKY TONIGHT!/BAD SCIENCE/What is love to a GODDESS?

Uncategorized

HOME

It’s that time of year again when HOME launches its biennial festival of new work showcasing and supporting local artists. This year kicks off with an interactive quiz show in the Event Space. Afreena Islam-Wright is an established theatre maker and quiz show host whose work includes Daughters of the Curry Revolution and Meet me at the Cemetery Gates. Her latest work takes the novel approach of blending a one woman theatre show with a lively quiz experience.

Tables are set with tablecloths and beer mats and each team has a tablet set up to join a speed quiz with your chosen team name and buzzer choice. The interactive quiz is a bit of a shock to the system to anyone new to the world of speed quizzing but Islam-Wright instills her audience with confidence and enthusiasm. This is a fun evening on many levels and the questions may be quite niche but are all skillfully woven around the narrative of her personal story. Interspersed through the rounds are the threads that weave the performer’s personal story as a young woman who grew up in Old Trafford as part of a very traditional Bangladeshi family and started her own family with someone outside her family’s culture. This is a work in development which shows a lot of potential especially if the intention is to use the medium of quizzing to bring theatre and storytelling into pubs across the country.

SwitchMCR are a Manchester based company comprised of graduates from the Royal Exchange Young Company. This new production BAD SCIENCE is a hi-energy, adrenaline fuelled romp that has its three female performers cast as a group of incompetent politicians scrabbling for survival within their party. Tasked to use psychiatry as a means of squashing public protest they shamelessly use the audience as a Focus Group to create a new psychiatric condition. The result is anarchic and amusing as our production created a new condition called Lemonism and its dodgy premise brought down yet another dodgy politician. The use of loud music and lively choreography certainly ramps up the generally buzzy feel of this piece. There is some nice physical comedy especially from deviser Emily Bold.

What it is love to a GODDESS? takes place on the stage in Theatre 1 and sees Maz Hedgehog retell the story of Medea and her obsessive love of Jason of The Argonauts. This is a perhaps too faithful retelling of the myth in that a sense of dynamic theatre-making risks getting lost in a slightly static monologue. Max Hedgehog is a strong and charismatic performer who leans into a sinuous and terrifying malevolence that is both impressive and commanding. Some tweaking of the movement and sound direction in this piece could ramp up the impact of this piece and enhance some very poetic writing by the performer.

PUSH FESTIVAL 24th Jan – 8th Feb 2025

That Love Thing

Poetry, Small Theatres

Created and Performed by Peter Keeley

Directed by Mike Shepherd

HOME

Mancunion writer and actor Peter Keeley has cerebral palsy and is a wheelchair user. This Love Thing showcases his poetry and his love of music, old movies, biscuits and romance. In a series of conversational and dramatic vignettes Keeley deftly and wryly shows himself as way more than the ignorant and often cruel stereotypical perceptions of disability. This is a guy whose intelligence, wit and sex drive are every bit as powerful as his favourite wheelchair the mighty Meteor. Alongside him on his journey through his life stories is his companion and fellow actor/writer Michael Begley. Together on stage the warm companionable energy and easy affection is reminiscent of a quality comedy double act from a bygone era.

On a stage littered with vertigo challenging ladders are old fashioned tea trolleys, record players and television that hark back to the past. They exude charm while the imposing ladders hint at barriers to certain hopes and dreams. Moments where Michael whispers bitter comments on disability that are robustly challenged by Peter are perhaps hints that it’s time to leave old fashioned views of disability behind and look with fresh eyes at the person and not the chair they sit in.

There is a lovely energy to this production with Director Mike Shepherd using that sense of magical whimsy that Kneehigh do so well. The use of masks and puppetry to bring to life the spectre of Mr C.P. as a satanic influence on Peters life is playful and dramatic but highly effective as a description of living with cerebral palsy. The choice of songs such from artists such as Leonard Cohen, The Velvet Underground and James illustrate the themes of love and loss. They play alongside poetry from Keeley and tell of human desire and the frustrations of living with cerebral palsy but also the poignancy of bereavement and grief. The writer’s mother was a midwife who had safely delivered so many babies for others but the birth of her twin boys in the hospital she worked was difficult and both babies were born with cerebral palsy.

Peter Keeley and Michael Begley in That Love Thing. Image credit: Natalia Riga

Peter Keeley seems utterly at home on stage and delivers a truly charming performance. Michael Begley sings, dances and slithers up ladders as the sinister Mr C.P. while carefully ensuring that this show flows but keeps Keeley first and foremost throughout the production. At an hour long this is a brief but highly memorable window into one man’s life. Perhaps the next outing may even introduce the mysterious, much desired Miss Jones…I do hope so…

HOME 20th, 22nd -23rd November 2024

WRESTLELADSWRESTLE

Theatre

Created and Performed by Jennifer Jackson

Outside Eye Sarah Frankcom

HOME

Theatre 2 in HOME is pulsing with energy during this new production devised by Jennifer Jackson with the assistance of fellow performer Simon Carroll Jones (Head of Movement at The Arden). The stage is piled up with thick wrestling mats which are later moved to reveal a full drum kit on which Isobel Odelola punches out a mean beat. Jackson was the under 50kg British Judo Champion at age 15 and seems to have lost little of her energy and prowess. Mixing dance movements and judo moves, the narrative weaves strands of storytelling from Jackson’s childhood involving a racist event and a scenario involving a drunken incident at a taxi rank with segments of teaching self defence Judo moves to an actual girl gang. The result packs a punch as the production explores racism and oppression while asking why women continue to be so unsafe on the streets and in their homes that they still need self defense classes to protect themselves.

Jackson is a gifted storyteller who vividly evokes 1980s Coventry and transports the audience to the sales queue in C&A as she and her petite Bolivian mother wait their turn. Loops of this scenario repeat sometimes featuring a red-faced angry man and eventually an angry white woman with the young Jackson witnessing her Mother being subjected to a racist attack. At times the scenario involves the performer challenging this unprovoked oppressive behaviour with a samurai sword or verbally making the aggressor see the error of their ways and apologise or sees the child get away with some ribald swearing in defence of her mother. The more prosaic actual truth of standing in silence and shame in the store queue has clearly shaped Jackson as a person and was also the catalyst to having judo training as a young girl. The other incident is also told from a range of perspectives. At times it is a funny story of fighting off a drunken woman trying to jump the queue at a late night taxi rank. In one instance she is celebrated as a feisty woman who pours a pint over the other woman and taunts her that she is a judo champion but when the tale loops again it has a darker edge suggesting the other woman’s vulnerability and desperation to get in a cab just to get home safely.

There are some lovely pieces of movement involving Jackson and Carroll Jones that see judo moves blend with elements of traditional Bolivian dance and Old Holywood dance routines which at times shift into an insidious violence of choke holds. The petite Anglo-Bolivian theatre-maker spars with her rather Aryan looking partner and teaches judo moves with clear instructions to her girl gang and the audience. The energy and pace of the piece is propelled by the drum beat and hi energy moments such as when Jackson wrestles a sex doll and pummels every inch of air out of it so it resembles a ragdoll. It presents as entertainment with the girl gang braying encouragement but as with so many implied undercurrents in this production there is something deeply unsettling about the casually discarded limp body lying on the stage.

By the end of the production the stage is filled with women all capable of felling the hapless judo assistant Simon. This is clearly celebrating safety in numbers and pure girl power as Jackson is surrounded by their communal embrace. There is a lot to like in this production and WRESTLELADSWRESTLE also benefits from some punchy captioning by Sarah Readman and live action video design from idontloveyouanymore that add a cartoon element to the work with all the BEEPS and GONGS flashing up onscreen. There are however some staging issues such as although the drum kit is raised up and highly visible, the piece also features a lot of floor work which is not always easy to see unless sat in the very front rows. Overall Jackson delivers a message of self defense training as empowerment and a worthy alternative to standing silently in a queue if no one comes to your aid.

HOME 3rd – 12th October 2024

I Bought A Flip Phone

Theatre

Written and Performed by Panos Kandunias

HOME MCR

Charlie is a thinker, in fact Charlie is an over thinker with time on his hands to get lost in a vortex of thoughts and possibilities. Do we really need a deluge of social media, chat groups and notifications coming at us through our smart phones? Do we really need to see another one person theatre show examining their quarter century angst? Writer/Performer Panos Kandunias sits centre stage on a low stool and sets the bar high for answering these questions amongst others in a mere 60 mins. This ambitious premise may partly account for the rapid fire delivery throughout the production but thankfully Kandunias is an assured and charming performer who keeps his audience thoroughly engaged.

Charlie is planning his 27th birthday party on a Nokia Flip Phone while admitting to not having had a party since his 13th birthday when he had food at Nandos followed by a sleepover. He has a long gone dick of a dad, a neurotic but well meaning Mum, a best friend called Phoebe and a potential new boyfriend called Tate and a demanding job as a corporate assistant. It all sounds pretty fine and perfectly normal yet there are all the signposts leading to a crossroads where Charlie finds himself depressed, lonely and dissatisfied with his life. His rejection of his smartphone is an attempt to self soothe by avoiding screen time watching his friends and acquaintances lead seemingly perfect lives on social media. Charlie is feeling lost and adrift in a world where we text or scroll because it’s less scary than chatting on the phone or God forbid actually meeting in person.

The production is stripped back to literally a bloke and a phone but it’s a highly effective directorial decision as it brings the humanity into sharp focus. Alone on stage Kandunias can dance perfectly to Dua Lipa and be a bitchy, slightly petulant, pretty boy but can equally be vulnerable, lost and scared as he navigates his late Twenties. I bought a Flip Phone neatly and poignantly illustrates many of the issues and life stressors that bring so many people of this age into therapy. Charlie might have ditched his smartphone but he is still just as addicted to every ring and ping of the old phone beside him and what they tell him about his value to himself and the people he cares about. Friendships often change or flatmates move cities, expectations of where we should be in life are nudging our psyche like an incessant notification alert and we may have expected to have found “the one” only to find that we can’t even locate a dating app we want to stay faithful to! This short, bittersweet production neatly sums up quarter century angst and as Charlie’s voice cracks a little as he chats to his Mum about his favourite childhood food, it reminds us all of the importance of real human connection.

HOME 11th – 14th September 2024

Work It Out

Large Theatres

Written by Eve Steele

Directed by Sarah Frankcom

HOME

Work It Out shines a light on the week to week experience of a disparate group of vulnerable individuals as they start to form bonds within a dance fitness class they have been prescribed at their local Community Centre. The naturalistic setting and the format of weekly sessions allows writer Eve Steele to deftly explore the journeys that each of her characters experience as they attempt to change their lives. It also gives Steele a perfect platform for an unashamedly polemic rant about a broken Britain where the most vulnerable in the population are increasingly isolated and unsupported. This could be a hard hitting, grim litany of despair but instead Steele imbues her characters with sufficient warmth and humour to ensure there is also a sense of hope as her characters re-engage with a love of life and all its possibilities.

The motley crew are all dealing with their own demons. Pensioner and Grandma Marie is both feisty and vulnerable with her anxieties masked by brusqueness and antipathy. Eithne Brown embodies this elderly hoarder with compassion and humour as she gradually opens up to the group and starts to regain some confidence. Raffie Julien plays her deaf granddaughter who having fallen out of love with music and dance has retreated to a world where her primary social engagement is with her phone. This is a beautiful performance and Julien shines as the prickly young woman who starts to regain joy and freedom in dance as she also makes new friends. The use of BSL throughout the production is seamlessly blended and works especially well within the fluid choreography of the whole production. Compulsive eater Colette initially tries to blend into the nondescript walls but Eva Scott blossoms on the dance floor as she connects with her repressed emotions. Writer Eve Steele is Siobhan, a heroin addict attempting to beat the drugs and the System while trying to get her daughter out of Care. Her character is both frustratingly disruptive in the class yet also acts as a catalyst for change in others that tragically she can sustain for herself. As always Steele is utterly believable as this chaotic and desperate woman who has suffered multiple traumas since childhood.

Dominic Coffey as Shaq and Raffie Julien as Rebecca in Work It Out at HOME
Photo credit: Chris Payne

The men here are interesting characters who despite their issues seem readily at ease amongst the predominantly female class. Aaron McCusker as Rab is a recovering alcoholic finding solace in acerbic one-liners and reiki. There is a bleak stoicism in his determination to live despite his own child wishing him dead. Dominic Coffey as Shaq has been through the care system and his burgeoning dance skills compete with his tics and stimming. The seemingly perfect class teacher played by Elizabeth Twells unites these characters but is woefully unprepared for the issues that erupt and she soon reveals herself as equally vulnerable and just as in need of a support group.

There is much to like in this production. Jennifer Jackson has done a brilliant job with the movement and choreography which is very impactful especially in scenes such as Coffey’s solo dance to a great version Creep by Radiohead. Katie Scott has created a set that embodies every detail of a down at heel community space. For Eve Steele and Director Sarah Frankcom this has clearly been a labour of love and the naturalistic direction feels like a homage to the wonderful Annie Baker. There are however issues with the overall length of the play and the pacing. The first half feels too long and risks losing its momentum on several occasions and there are occasions where the dialogue is hard to hear during some dance sequences. Overall Work It Out is a well written piece with a big heart. It celebrates the redemptive quality of kindness and the vital importance of community in our increasingly fractured world. It also highlights the hidden tragedy of those who are often better at helping others than knowing how to truly help themselves.

HOME 1st – 16th March 2024

Little Women

Theatre

Written by Louisa May Alcott

Adapted by Anne-Marie Casey

Directed by Brigid Larmour

HOME in association with Pitlochry Festival Theatre

HOME

First published in 1868 this well loved American semi-autobiographical classic tells the story of four sisters who are navigating their teens as they each grapple with what it means to become Little Women. Set during the American Civil War the story unfolds as their mother Marmee holds the home together while their father is off to war and this genteel family adjust to becoming impoverished.

Anne-Marie Casey keeps faithful to the original text while managing to include the main events of the original and its follow-up Little Wives. The focus is firmly on Alcott’s main themes of domesticity, work and true love as the sisters navigate supporting each other financially within the constraints of New England society while deciding if it’s ever possible to marry both for love and financial security.

This is a great piece in that it puts women at its forefront with a range of interesting roles. In this adaptation it is stripped back to just eight actors with six of them women. The ever wonderful Susan Twist does an inspired turn as Aunt March. Imperious and acidic, she is a force to be reckoned with as this elegant patrician attempts to maintain standards for one of New England’s finest families. Kacey Ainsworth is a fine actress who looks perfectly cast as Marmee but at times feels under used and constrained by either the script or Brigid Larmour‘s considered direction. She exudes love and patience as she tries to be a good mother and a dutiful wife and neighbour while worrying about the financial future of her brood.

Susan Twist and Rachael McAllister as Aunt March and Jo in Little Women at HOME.
Image credit: Chris Payne

The sisters are led by Jo who sees herself as rough and wild. She is the aspiring writer who wants home and hearth to remain unchanged forever and her character is based on Alcott herself. Rachael McAllister plays her with passionate enthusiasm giving free rein to Jo’s impetuousity and bad temper as well as her fierce love of family. However there are times when her gauche clumsiness and mulish ways veer too much towards the huffiness of a difficult child and get in the way of taking her seriously as the writer and woman she is attempting to become. Jessica Brydges as Meg seems less conceited than in the original text so her journey to contented marriage with the impoverished but honourable John seems less dramatically interesting. Meg Chaplin is utterly believable as the delicate and docile Beth and her piano playing and singing add a lovely additional element to this production. The youngest and traditionally least likeable sister is Amy who has the most growing up to do. Actress Julia Brown really shines as she delivers a performance that allows her character to grow from a petulant and vindictive child to a worldly and emotionally wise young woman who is ultimately a much better wife for Laurie than Jo could have ever been.

Daniel Francis Swaby gives Laurie plenty of charm and a laconic wit. He has a winsome energy and at times an emotional intelligence that sometimes seems at odds with his attachment for Jo but make for a vibrant addition to the pacing of this production when he is on stage. Tom Richardson plays John Brooks and Professor Bhaer giving both men real decency, compassion and humour. He is especially good as he mentors Jo in New York as the exiled German Professor who passionately believes in the power and importance of The Arts.

Daniel Francis Swaby as Laurie in Little Women at HOME. Image credit: Chris Payne

The set design by Ruari Murchison is visually striking as the tall fine birches of New England stand strong whether in snowy woodland, winter ice skating or in the March home or streets of New York. The staging is simple but ambitious and effective. However the use of several main props so close to the front and sides of the stage may make for tricky sight lines for some audience members. The stage is beautifully lit and the subtle use of sound such as the ticking clock, crackling of ice on a lake or the peal of bells as war ends is a genius touch by Niroshini Thambar.

The script and the thoughtful direction by Brigid Larmour makes for an enjoyable production peppered with moments of warm humour, a depth of love and genuine pathos and despair that reflect real family life both now and in the time Alcott was writing about her Little Women. There are times when the slow pace can be frustrating but as a well rendered piece of nostalgia for the stage this production has much to recommend it.

HOME 8th – 23rd December 2023

TOXIC

Small Theatres

Written by Nathaniel J Hall

Directed by Scott Le Crass

A Dibby Theatre production commissioned by HOME

HOME

TOXIC is a semi-autobiographical piece from writer, actor and HIV activist Nathaniel J Hall. Six years on from the premiere of First Time which I saw in 2017 at Sale Waterside, at Edinburgh Fringe in 2018 and at CONTACT in 2021, its time to see what that tricky “second album” looks like. This is an exploration of how two troubled souls forged a trauma bond but sadly as Hall says This is the story of how we met, fell in love, and f*cked it up. The piece looks at how intoxicating love can disintegrate into something damaged and ultimately toxic. Woven through this love story gone wrong is a powerful look at the personal impact of his HIV diagnosis as a teenager and his partners’ experience of growing up mixed race in a sometimes violent household while both were also grappling with coming to terms with their own sexuality.

That’s a lot to pack into a 90 minute show and deal with any of the subject matter with any depth or sensitivity. In the main TOXIC does a lovely job of vividly evoking two flawed characters that have charm and real substance. Hall exudes winsome vulnerability and Josh-Susan Enright gives a warm rich depth to their performance. Watching them meet and fall in love it’s easy to root for a happy ending even as the show opens with an unabashed ending spoiler. There is something joyfully endearing about this boxfresh couple building a domestic life together with a dog and a DFS sofa. However the broken windows of a cleverly claustrophobic set by designer Lu Herbert already hints at the tragedy yet to unfold. Hall breezily blends glib humour and sly asides into his writing which counterbalances some of the more uncomfortable subject matter without sacrificing the power of the narrative. He may gleefully suggest we just call us your friendly neighbourhood red flags but when he recalls situations where he was called unfuckable because of his HIV status it is hard not to feel the pain in that recollection.

The on stage chemistry between Hall and Josh-Susan Enright is palpable and the latter feels like a perfect foil as the more experienced lover. One is ready to retire their party lifestyle whereas the other is still curious and hungry for the experience denied him before the game changing introduction of PrEP. Their blend of domesticity and drug fuelled partying leads to hook up apps and threesomes that descend into paranoia and jealousies that destroy their happiness. In the main the story is well paced and highly engaging. However there are points towards the end where the show seems to flounder a little. Hall seems breathy in some of his delivery and the fight scene doesn’t quite resonate as it could. Overall this is an assured production that looks great and is cleverly lit by Tracey Gibbs especially in the moments where the visual effects seem to bathe the cast and set with an insidious splatter effect that echoes germs multiplying in a petri dish. The dividing stage is a surprising and startlingly effective way of depicting how broken this couple now are. As Hall says Hurt people hurt people. There is a lovely and reassuring sense of maturity in this insight…something to be truly proud of whatever race, gender or sexuality you may be. There is never shame in recognising our own flaws or damage when we are open to learning and healing.

HOME 18th – 28th October 2023

Dibby Theatre

Kathy and Stella Solve A Murder!

Large Theatres, Musical

Book and Lyrics/ Co-directed by Jon Brittain

Music and Lyrics/Musical Director Matthew Floyd Jones

Co-Director/Choreographer Fabian Aloise

HOME

Two social misfits in Hull host a murder mystery podcast having forged an intense friendship in primary school with their shared love of guts and gore. So far so good, but real life stuff is getting in their way and mounting family pressure is urging them to get out of Kathys’ Mums’ garage and get a life…or at least a career. Luckily for them, their true crime writer heroine breezes into Hull and they meet her on her book signing. Unluckily for her, a mysterious murderer beheads her and the hapless duo decide to investigate her murder. Suddenly these wannabes have the opportunity to become somebodies…not just anybodies but the sort of podcast bodies who trend and go viral with the help of no less than Lorraine Kelly!!

Kathy and Stella Solve A Murder! was a sell out success at Edinburgh Fringe in 2022 and 2023. This tour taking in Bristol Old Vic and HOME featuring a strong cast, a great set by Cecilia Carey and high production values courtesy of Francesca Moody Productions looks set to take this Hull based crime romp straight into the West End of London. This is a rollicking good yarn with songs that have catchy melodies and terrific lyrics that showcase the Hull accent in all its Northern glory. It is a fun night out at the theatre that unashamedly pokes fun at the police force while raising pertinent questions about the role of social media in real life crime cases and our obsession with fame at any cost. At its heart it is a story of true friendship and how it can survive being tested to its limits.

The cast of Kathy and Stella Solve A Murder!
Image credit: Ellie Kurttz

Bronté Barbé and Rebekah Hinds as Kathy and Stella make a great onstage pairing. Bronté is perfectly cast as the nervy, bookish University dropout and Hinds is utterly believable as the steely eyed, insouciant Stella whose tough exterior marks her vulnerability. There is great onstage chemistry and their vocal range compliments each other beautifully. The rest of the cast play multiple roles with great enthusiasm. Jodie Jacobs shines as ghastly crime writer Felicia Taylor, her siblings and the detective tasked with uncovering her murder. T.J Lloyd is a delight as mortician Justin and Imelda Warren-Green slays her primary role as the bug-eyed superfan Erica.

There is genuinely much to love in this riotous goofy murder mystery…and this is written by someone who is not a natural lover of musicals. The frenetic pace of this production can sometimes feel like speeding along having mainlined a Mars Bar and washed it down with Red Bull but every line and phrasing is perfectly pitched and hits its mark. We may never know the true identity of The Hull Decapitator but we can be certain that the team behind Fleabag and Baby Reindeer have another hit production that may soon be adding awards to their mantelpiece!

HOME 5th – 21st October 2023