I, Daniel Blake

David Nellist as Dan in I, Daniel Blake
Image credit: Pamela Raith

Adapted by Dave Johns from the film directed by Ken Loach, written by Paul Laverty, and produced by Rebecca O’Brien for Sixteen Films.

Directed by  Mark Calvert

Written and Adapted by Dave Johns

HOME THEATRE

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


This production of I, Daniel Blake is not a period piece thoughtfully adapted from the Ken Loach film. Director Dave Johns ensures that it remains an open, angry wound that has never properly healed and continues to fester. Ken Loach’s landmark film, adapted for the stage, remains a devastating portrait of bureaucratic cruelty, yet this production understands that indignation alone is not enough. It must also find the humanity flickering beneath the paperwork, the humour surviving in the queue, the tenderness that institutions so often ignore.
The story follows Daniel Blake, a joiner recovering from a heart attack who is declared unfit for work by his doctor but not by the job centre, and Katie, a young mother relocated far from home and struggling to keep her family afloat. Their uneasy friendship, born of shared hardship, becomes the emotional spine of the evening. What could feel schematic instead breathes with the lived truth of genuine poverty in Broken Britain.


This production resists any grandstanding or preaching. It does not need to. Its power lies in the detail… the humiliating jargon of assessments, the tinny hold music of endless on phone call queues, the exhausted body language of people forever asked to prove their own desperation and the bleak mono. The direction keeps sentimentality on a tight leash, allowing anger to emerge naturally rather than by theatrical decree.

Jessica Johnson, Jodie Wild and David Nellist in I,Daniel Blake
Image credit: Pamela Raith

The ensemble work is particularly strong, creating a city of strangers who are by turns indifferent, overwhelmed, compassionate and complicit. Kema Sikazwe brings warmth,humour and hope as the young entrepreneur and Jodie Wild is the sweet but never naive beacon of hope for Dan and Katie. Micky Cochrane is electrifying as the angry man applauding Dan’s eventual retaliative outburst. No one is rendered a cartoon villain. Even the agents of the system seem trapped inside machinery too large and too cold to stop. That nuance matters. It reminds us that injustice often wears an ID badge and follows procedure.

At the centre, Daniel is played beautifully by David Nellist with a quiet dignity rather a than a saintly glow. His frustration grows by inches, not explosions, making his eventual acts of defiance all the more moving. Katie, meanwhile, avoids becoming a symbol of noble suffering. Instead Jessica Johnson is funny, proud, sharp, and at times frighteningly close to collapse but always utterly believable in the role. Their scenes together carry the warmth of two people building a tenuous shelter from weather they did not create and certainly cannot control.

Visually, the production is spare but eloquent. Functional sets slide and reshape like official forms endlessly refiled. Public spaces feel exposed; private pain has nowhere to hide. When moments of darkness arrive, they land like stones in water, such as the infamous food bank scene in which the wretched tears fall in darkness and are rendered all the more powerful.

Years after its first appearance, I, Daniel Blake remains a necessary howl against systems that confuse efficiency with morality. This compassionate, clear-eyed production does not simply ask for sympathy. It asks for memory, responsibility, and change. In an age still fluent in cruelty, that feels urgently current.

If there is a limitation, it is that the film’s intimate realism can sometimes sit awkwardly on stage, with certain transitions moving around the stage feeling more dutiful than fluid. Yet the emotional truth survives intact, and often hits harder in a room where collective witnessing becomes part of the drama. The use of the background screen is a powerful tool, used thoughtfully to show the messages and platitudes are still the same regardless of which political party chooses to tweet or advertise their latest slogan on the side of a bus.

Years after its first appearance, I, Daniel Blake remains a necessary howl against systems that confuse efficiency with morality. This compassionate, clear-eyed production does not simply ask for sympathy. It asks for memory, responsibility, and change. In an age still fluent in cruelty, that feels urgently current.

HOME MCR 21st – 25th April 2026

Tour Dates

Breaking The Code

Mark Edel-Hunt as Alan Turing in Breaking The Code at HOME MCR
Image credit: Manuel Harlan

Written by Hugh Whitemore with a new epilogue by Neil Bartlett

Directed by Jesse Jones

A Royal & Derngate, Northampton, Landmark Theatres and Oxford Playhouse co-production in association with Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse and HOME

HOME MCR

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This timely revival of Breaking the Code offers a moving, finely judged portrayal of genius under siege. Hugh Whitemore’s play about Alan Turing; the mathematician, Enigma Code war hero, and victim of Britain’s criminalisation of homosexuality might be almost four decades old, but in this production it feels achingly relevant and startlingly humane.

At the centre is a beautifully modulated performance by Mark Edel‑Hunt as Turing. He resists the temptation to play Turing as an eccentric caricature and instead finds something wonderfully fragile and real. His speech patterns, social awkwardness, and flashes of impish humour combine to give the role a quiet power. The moments when intellect falters in the face of love or shame are especially affecting as life unravels. This is a truly mesmerising performance as Edel-Hunt gives us a stuttering misfit who visibly soars when describing mathematical theorems and who yearns for love and affection.

Director Jesse Jones keeps the staging spare and fluid, allowing the story’s emotional logic to unfold like a mathematical proof. The use of minimalistic design and subtle lighting anchors the production in its historical moment while underlining Turing’s eerie prescience about the modern digital world. The simplicity allows for a fluid and believable transition through the numerous vignette pieces which weave together this study of Turing the man and the genius.

The rest of the cast are impressive with Susie Trayling as Turing’s mother and Joe Usher as his ill-fated lover bringing moral texture and earthy warmth, ensuring that this is no sterile biopic but a living, breathing human drama. There are some simply beautiful interactions in this production that do justice to the writing but the standout moments are with Peter Hamilton Dyer who plays Turing’s colleague, Billy Knox at Bletchley Park. The two actors play off each other with a  precision and wit that is simply theatrical alchemy.

Mark Edel-Hunt and Peter Hamilton Dyer in Breaking The Code at HOME MCR
Image credit: Manuel Harlan

The new epilogue by Neil Bartlett updates the original 1986 play by taking into account Turing’s 2013 pardon and the development of “Turing’s Law”. This may have felt like a necessary update that brings the story into sharp relief for our times. However and perhaps due to watching this production in Manchester where Turing is already celebrated with such pride and fondness, this felt unnecessary. The additional exposition jarred with Turing’s final moments on stage, played with heartbreaking restraint which quietly reminds us all how brilliance can both illuminate and isolate.

HOME MCR 28th Oct – 1st Nov 2025

Going Out Out

The cast of Going Out Out at HOME
Image credit: Chris Payne

Written by Barney Norris

Directed by Jess Edwards

HOME Theatre 2

From the very first moments we meet widower Ian, Going Out Out sets a quietly intriguing tone that gradually blooms into a vivid, heartfelt, and surprisingly joyful exploration of grief, identity and community. The production opens with a man who no longer leaves his house save to water the garden and has his shoppingdelivered by a local charity. The catalyst is simple yet striking when Raz, a young man delivering his groceries discovers Ian wearing his late wife’s dress while gardening. The quiet beauty in the moment is an elderly man being seen and accepted when he explains his wearing of his wife’s dress “helps him feel closer.”

This seemingly modest moment propels a story about transformation. Under the direction of Jess Edwards and written by Barney Norris, the play dramatizes Ian’s introduction to the world of the drag-scene in Manchester and a one night only performance at the working men’s club run by his estranged daughter Lauren.  The move from isolation to community is convincingly rendered: the play doesn’t shy away from melancholy, but it crafts an emotional arc that celebrates connection rather than sorrow.

One of the show’s strengths is its soundtrack. Soulful standards and pop-anthem flourishes underpin Ian’s growing metamorphosis. The music and staging inject rhythm and energy into what could otherwise be a quiet story of domestic decline. This musical element underlines how life and selfhood are not merely reclaimed by “going out” but the healing and redemptive nature of singing and performing. Quinn and Kuppan both deliver a number of songs with gusto and panache that drive the narrative to its natural conclusion.

Ian’s transformation feels earned and James Quinn delivers a subtle,  humourous and heartfelt performance of a man who feels adrift and awkward without his wife. Darren Kuppan as Raz is a warm and funny guide into the world of drag and coming back to the world. Verity Henry as daughter Lauren sparks genuine tension and hope as she navigates a new relationship with her father. The set design by Miriam Nabarro conjures up the beige home life of a resigned widower and the down beat air of a shabby working men’s club with a delightful hint of glamour with a glittery stage and illuminated dressing room.



There are occasional moments where the narrative feels slightly schematic in the “climb out of grief through performance and friendship” arc. Some transitions between intimate character beats and more theatrical, performance-heavy scenes are brisk and don’t always land smoothly. The shift can feel a little like a lightening quick change in a backstage drag dressing room…effective for energy but small emotional beats sometimes flick past. However the charm and warmth in the writing and the acting by a strong cast is a more than adequate compensation.

What resonates strongly is the message that grief need not annihilate identity, and that stepping into something unexpected (a dress, a club, a performance) can be a genuine mode of survival and renewal. Going Out Out is a warm, compassionate, and musically vibrant piece of theatre. It might not upend every dramatic convention but it delivers characters to geniunely care about, a story to believe in, and the knowledge that sometimes the path through loss may involve loud songs, sequins and stepping outside your comfort zone. For anyone curious about how a quiet life might bloom into something bold, this production is well worth going out for.

Darren Kuppan as Raz in Going Out Out
Image credit: Chris Payne

HOME MCR 16th October – 1st November 2025

TESS

TESS. Image credit: Kie Cumming

Written by Thomas Hardy

Adapted and Directed by Alex Harvey and Charlotte Mooney

HOME MCR

HOME plays host to a visceral, breathtaking reimagining of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles. This dreamy production quite literally soars in this genre-blending adaptation by Ockham’s Razor.

Gone is the pastoral restraint of traditional Hardy. Instead, we’re catapulted into a raw, kinetic world where spoken word collides with aerial spectacle, and physical theatre gives pulse to Tess’s inner life. With ropes, rigging, and a shape-shifting set by Tina Bicât that conjures both rural Dorset and Tess’s psychological terrain, this production is as visually inventive as it is emotionally brutal.

From the opening moments, where Tess’s body arcs through the air, we sense a young woman buffeted by forces far larger than herself – class, patriarchy and fate. The acrobatics aren’t just decorative but truly dramaturgical. Every lift, tumble, and suspension reveals something of her journey: the elation of love, the vertigo of injustice, the weight of grief.

Hardy’s 19th-century text is refracted through a contemporary lens, but not diluted. The themes of poverty, privilege, female agency, and the policing of desire all land with fresh urgency. There’s a fury simmering beneath the lyricism of the script which fuses Hardy’s own words with piercing modern clarity. There is a piercing moment on stage as Joshua Frazer as Alec D’Urberville spins imperiosly around Tess in a hoop like a giant gold wedding ring that is both stunning and chilling.

The cast are remarkable – muscular and tender, able to pivot from aerial feats to fragile, unspoken intimacies without ever breaking the spell. Here there are two perfomers as Tess. Hanora Kamen narrates her own story and invites the audience to watch as her tragic tale unfolds. Dance artist Lila Naruse ensures that Tess is heartbreakingly rendered: strong but vulnerable, caught in the ropes of her circumstances even as she fights to break free.

The staging is constantly surprising, using vertical space and movement to express what Hardy wrote between the lines: that the social systems around Tess are as confining as any physical trap. For creative team of Directors Alex Harvey and Charlotte Mooney this production is clearly a labour of love. They are ably supported by an exquisite soundscape from Holly Khan and dreamy video design by Daniel Denton. Nathan Johnson‘s choreography is just flawless and commands attention in a similar and intimate way to his work with Punchdrunk.

TESS Image by Kie Cumming

TESS is a triumph of theatrical innovation and emotional storytelling that speaks directly to a contemporary audience. The solidarity of women, the enduring effects of shame, and the quiet power of resistance are all threaded through the performance with care and urgency. Hardy purists may blink but even they’ll be moved by the sheer poetry of this production’s fall and flight.

HOME MCR 5th – 7th June 2025

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW

The cast of The Taming of The Shrew.
Image credit: Shay Rowan

Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by Amy Gavin and Hannah Ellis Ryan


The Shrew Gets a Manc Makeover: Unseemly Women Take On Shakespeare

The bawdy babes are back and this time, they’re not pulling any punches. Unseemly Women, HER Productions, and Girl Gang Manchester have teamed up for a burlesque-soaked, neon-splashed, full-throttle takedown of Shakespeare’s most problematic “rom-com” at HOME and it’s an absolute riot.

Under the whip-smart direction of Amy Gavin and Hannah Ellis Ryan, The Taming of the “Shrew” ditches dusty tradition for something far more visceral. Set between a glitter-drenched nightclub and the chaotic world of Padua, this all-female and non-binary ensemble slices through the Bard’s gender politics with stilettos sharpened.

The very talented cast slinks and shimmy across the stage and into the audience to ramp up the immersive aspects of this sassy production. Think Baz Luhrmann meets Blackadder on a hen do in the Northern Quarter, with a soundtrack that pivots from catchy pop tracks and bluesy vocals to the sinister horror of a slowed down Andy WilliamsCan’t Take My Eyes Off You.

Shady Murphy is magnificent as Katerina, all fire and fury before her spark is methodically and heartbreakingly extinguished. Opposite her, a brilliant Emily Spowage delivers a Petruchio that’s equal parts swagger and sadism. It’s a masterclass in gaslighting so when Petruchio insists the sun is the moon, your stomach will twist as Katerina tries to navigate around safe path through her marital nightmare.

Visually, it’s a feast: Zoe Barnes’ Vivienne Westwood-inspired wedding dress looks iconic. The Belles look suitably beguiling and risqué for this  production. The pole dancing and musical elements ramp up the visual drama and showcase the multi-talented performers in this riotous piece.

This is a fun and face-paced punch to the gut that’s a glitter cannon full of feminist fury. By refusing to sanitize the original text, this production reframes it with power, purpose, and a healthy dose of revenge. Here this vibrant and talented ensemble reclaim the narrative. The odious Sly Christopher is left to watch the women like a second rate Bernard Manning gagged and trussed up like a turkey.

Catch it before it disappears in a cloud of glitter and gaslight.

HOME MCR 27TH-31ST MAY 2025






Kim’s Convenience

James Yi and Caroline Donica in Kim’s Convenience. Image credit: Victoria Davies.

Written by Ins Choi

Directed by Esther Jun

HOME MCR

A few minutes into this production and hunger pangs are kicking in. The vibrant set design by Mona Camille brings this show alive as it really feels like a shop crammed full of snacks and goodies. If this 80 minute production had an interval I suspect there would be a few shoplifting instances as punters might be tempted to forgo the theatre popcorn for a quick trolley dash on stage. This is a feast for the eyes and makes for an utterly convincing Korean/Canadian convenience store that Mr Kim has poured all his energy into making a success for his family.

Ins Choi debuted the play in 2011 at the Toronto Fringe Festival and it later became a runaway hit as a TV series which ran for 5 seasons on CBC and Netflix. This production is fast paced but then it needs to be as it attempts to crammed in pivotal storyline from all the tv series. The result is a janchi of events as this fractured family reconnect. Mr Kim discovers his story is his family not his business, his wife sees her church community  vanish in the path of gentrification, their daughter finds love with a childhood friend and their son reconciled with his father after the violent events of his teenage years. There’s a lot to consume and digest in this production and although it has plenty of charm and endearing moments there is a lot of serious and darker elements that are brushed over in this trolley dash through the 5 series.

The cast of Kim’s Convenience
Image credit: Victoria Davies

Here the immigrant experience is seen from the first and second generation experience and how these very different perspectives can cause clashes and divides around what constitutes belonging, identity and success. There are some uncomfortable moments that highlight issues around racism and violence within families that are never really addressed in this cheery upbeat production. It’s a fine line to walk but here the audience seem so affectionate towards these familiar characters that they seem willing to laugh along.

The cast are all highly committed and James Yi as Appa and Caroline Donica as his daughter Janet have great onstage chemistry and keep the dialogue sparkling. Andrew Gichigi plays multiple roles with real charm so it’s easy to delight in his burgeoning relationship with Janet. There is plenty to enjoy in this popular and entertaining show but like many of the fast foods on the display shelves it may leave you with a slightly unpleasant aftertaste.

HOME MCR 8th-12th April 2025

UK tour dates

ONE PUNCH

George Reid, Ellis Basford and Camille Hainsworth-Staples in ONE PUNCH at HOME Image credit: John Godper Company

Written by Jane Thornton and Martha Godper

Directed by Jane Thornton

HOME MCR

We all love a good night out with friends especially if celebrating a birthday. Fun times and hijinks before heading home to blow out the candles on our favourite cake with our nearest and dearest. This production narrates just such a night out in great detail but in this story, it is a human life that is extinguished instead of those birthday candles. The John Godper Company have worked closely with community charity One Punch Hull who raise awareness of just how lethal one single punch can be. This dynamic and deliberately punchy drama has a strong focus on education and is clearly intended as a piece that can successfully tour schools to promote the charity’s message STOP. THINK. WALK AWAY.

The three strong cast narrate the story of Reece as the Paramedics who were called to a horrific incident. This young man is celebrating his birthday in a very ordinary, everyday manner. There are multiple caterpillar cakes from a loving partner and a doting Mum, a day at work followed by drinks with his best mates and a planned taxi home to kiss his young daughter goodnight. Sadly in this drama this happy day reaches a shocking and desperately unhappy conclusion. A single drunken punch from his best mate Connor fells the birthday boy and the subsequent bang to his head has devastating consequences. Two loving parents and his partner and a small child lose a loved one and a young man loses his best mate and his liberty.

The cast of ONE PUNCH at HOME
Image credit: Ian Hodgson

The simple staging is strikingly effective hinting at a boxing ring edged with police hazard tape and a few beer crates. The multi coloured back screen lighting panels suggest a nightclub and ultimately the stained glass illuminating a church funeral. George ReidEllis Basford and Camille Hainsworth-Staples play multiple roles as they both narrate the events but also act out the events taking on the roles of Reece and Connor as well as the parents and Reece’s partner. This is a demanding feat especially in such an emotive story based on real events where the writers and the cast have worked closely with the parents of Scott Akester on whom this production is based. George Reid delivers a particularly impressive performance moving between his roles especially when performing as the father where he really shines.

Writers Jane Thornton and Martha Godper have clearly endeavoured to write a piece of theatre that can deliver on a range of levels. Using a lot of rhyming ensures the piece flows well and is accessible to a range of ages and backgrounds. They have created a piece of theatre sensitive to the true story behind the narrative while maintaining a realism that does not sugarcoat the message. People get drunk for all sorts of reasons whether in celebration or commiseration and anything in between. People can be happy drunks or funny drunks or sad or angry drunks. We cannot definitively predict outcomes but we can try to safeguard against some risks. This play highlights the potentially deadly impact of toxic masculinity when fueled by alcohol and adrenaline. The heartfelt request from the family of Scott Akester is simple…Stop. Think. Walk Away.

HOME 12th – 15th February 2025

Unhinged

Stef Reynolds in Unhinged

Written and Directed by Erinn Dhesi

Written and Performed by Stef Reynolds

PUSH FESTIVAL 2025

HOME

This solo production sees Stef Reynolds hold the stage confidently for a full length show without an interval, actively engage with her audience while also shifting props around to bring alive her childhood bedroom, her Grans’ council flat, the office she works in and trendy restaurants in the Northern Quarter. Reynolds may be delivering a show about a woman whose chaotic approach to life is rapidly unravelling at a rate that even surprises her but is clearly in total control throughout this piece. This is an accomplished performance that is memorable and highly engaging. Reynolds has great comic timing and her endearing goofiness blended with sharp observations pitched directly to the audience is a winning combo.

Hazel has grown up on a Manchester council estate and now lives in her Grans’ old flat which is actually owned by her absent brother. Elements of the narrative are confusing as an amusing trip to the council office to demand repairs on the property suggest a rented flat in her brothers name yet later in the production Hazel is losing her home as her brother is selling the flat. It’s a credit to the bouncy script by Reynolds and Erinn Dhesi (who also directs the piece) that these issues remain minor concerns. The central character seems both feisty and incredibly vulnerable. The relationship with her brother is as fractured as the main characters’childhood memories. This exploration of race, identity and burgeoning sexuality is never fully developed and at times is searingly perceptive and at others frustratingly hazy. The overall effect creates an nice snapshot of how childhood memories impact and shape how we view the world and how that impacts our understanding of the here and now.

Director Erinn Dhesi ensures there is lots of movement and action which keeps the pacing of the show feeling fresh and interesting. The pace however drops off towards the end of this 90 minute show. As new work it may benefit from a tighter edit but overall there is a lot to enjoy. As a performer Stef Reynolds really shines in the lighter moments as she has a natural comic timing and a real knack for engaging with her audience.

PUSH 2025 FESTIVAL 30th-31st January 2025

I WISH

Le Gateau Chocolat in I Wish at HOME MCR Image credit: Shirlaine Forrest

Created by Le Gateau Chocolat, Rachel Bagshaw and Seiriol Davies

Directed by Rachel Bagshaw

HOME MCR

Most of us grow up absorbing Fairy stories throughout our childhoods whether in books, Disney movies or Pantomimes. How many of us have ever wondered what happens after the final dénouement and those fateful words And They All Lived Happy Ever After…? Thankfully Le Gateau Chocolat has gone above and beyond for all us curious adults and wide eyed children and unleashed his inner Fairy Godmother. The suitably fabulous and glittery Effie is about to celebrate her brumble thrillionth wish and seems confident that all her work has been of a high calibre until her bubble suddenly pops.

Colourful and vibrant, the costumes look like Effy has raided the dressing up box via a crash course prepping for Rupaul’s Drag Race and a trolley dash through a sequin factory. The costumes and set design by Ryan Dawson Laight has a frothy, magical quality with a backdrop that allows for plenty of costume changes as Le Gateau Chocolat speedily recreates characters that allude to  Cinderella, Peter Pan and Snow White. There is loads of audience interaction allowing children to get up close to the fabulous costumes and really connect with the magic that is happening on stage.

The voice over Narrator is Julian Clary whose calm but quizzical tone is an excellent foil for Effies exuberant confidence. The ensuing exchanges start to deconstruct these famous fables and discover some troubling issues. In this quirky production the audience and Effie consider how it really was for a Peter Pan character to never grow up but just watch from afar as their loved ones live, love and thrive without him. What if the fairy Godmother gave a young girl the opportunity of a lifetime but then left her to make her way up the steps to the castle ball without checking if she needed wheelchair access? Or could making someone incredibly beautiful potentially cause them to become a raging narcissist? Effie scores big when it comes to heart and eyelashes but may need to reconsider her health and safety policy. Thankfully Effie has an (eff)iphany and suggests to her young audience that we are all better together when it comes to making our wishes come true.

The music and lyrics by Seiriol Davies are witty and delightful, covering a range of styles and allowing Le Gateau Chocolat to showcase his rich baritone voice to full effect. This is a charming piece of theatre designed for young children and it’s message of the benefits of cooperation and inclusion is definitely on point. This sweet production has all the heart one would expect from Le Gateau Chocolat and it is great to see this fabulous performer back on stage after a serious illness earlier this year. Having seen DUCKIE at CONTACT and now I WISH, it’s good to be reminded of the importance of making theatre for young children that is relevant and memorable.

I WISH at HOME MCR

KIN

Roberta Kerr as Kay in KIN at HOME
Image credit: Shay Rowan

Written by Christine Mackie

Directed by Sue Jenkins

Her Productions and Best Girl Productions

HOME

Two sisters-in-law come together to bury one man. Robert was a husband to Kay and a big brother to Steph but as the play unfolds it would appear that Robert was so much more as family secrets are revealed and his grieving wife discovers she has just buried a man she barely knew. So far so good in this all female led, meaty saga written by Christine Mackie. This is gutsy, character led drama written to celebrate story telling for women of a certain age and it certainly delivers on all those fronts. There is gritty realism, high drama and even a few post- menopausal punches… weilding fists not fans!

This dark family tale with multiple twists and turns is further strengthened by assured performances from both leads in this two-hander. Roberta Kerr is excellent as Kay, a working class woman who has forged a successful independent business career despite marrying old money in the gentrified Robert. Her performance veers from brusque, pragmatic keep calm and carry on to moments of desperate hurt and pure rage and consternation as Steph blithely tears her world asunder. Kerr makes every moment and gesture count ensuring her on stage presence commands your attention. Steph is equally complex but is a harder watch on stage as her story arc unfolds. Kerry Willison-Parry does a great job delivering many of the witty one-liners as the feckless youngest daughter in a blue-blooded family full of dark secrets. However her character is by turns so utterly loathsome and irritating that it is difficult to feel genuine empathy and affection for this damaged women who has never really grown up and matured. Even in the final moments of the play it seems like her attempts to mother effectively will require Kay to mother her.

Kerry Willison-Parry as Steph in KIN at HOME. Image credit: Shay Rowan

These two women unpick the historic family dynamics in a way that repeatedly pulls them closer then blows them apart until a potentially redemptive ending that may just herald a new beginning for both of them. Director Sue Jenkins ensures that the bleaker dramatic moments are laced through with a blend of  dark humour, tea and Chardonnay. There are however concerns where occasional moments of slightly hammed up humour land awkwardly and risk some of the more harrowing events in this production losing their full emotional impact. I can only commend both actresses for maintaining their composure in a particularly poignant scene despite several audience members guffawing throughout a scene that deals with some incredibly sensitive topics. This full length play has all the elements of a juicy Radio 4 play or the Christmas evening episode of a major Soap opera. It’s great to see women writing and creating vivid stories together for themselves and for each other.

HOME MCR 29th Oct – 2nd Nov 2024