With her new
play, Home I’m Darling, Laura Wade has turned her attention to feminism,
using Katherine Parkinson’s
character, Judy, as the conduit. Judy is
married to Johnny (Richard Harrington)
and, following her voluntary redundancy, has decided to be a stay at home
wife. But this is no ordinary housewife,
as Judy has turned herself into a1950’s version, complete with frilled “pinny” and
gathered full skirts cinched in at the waist. There is no escape for the house either,
decorated as it is with a riot of primary colours, hideous 50’s furniture and
accoutrements including a pineapple ice bucket on top of the cocktail
cabinet. The kitchen also accommodates
an authentic fridge of the era. It’s
just a shame that it doesn’t work properly, especially when it had to be
collected from Sunderland and the couple live in Hertordshire! All credit to Designer, Anna Fleischie, for turning the set, where we’re able to see into
every colourful room of this nauseatingly twee home, into yet another
character.
At first, it’s
easy to assume that the play is set in the fifties. It’s only when Judy opens a
draw, removes her laptop and starts to type that we realise we’ve been
hoodwinked and it’s actually 2018. Whilst
giving the appearance of embracing the simpler post war years to the full, she
isn’t 100 percent committed. Johnny has
even less commitment to his wife’s obsession, but nevertheless plays the game
to some extent by allowing Judy to overdo the wifeliness. She bustles round at breakfast to ensure he
has his every need, hands him his lunchbox (fifties authentic of course), and kisses
him goodbye as he leaves for work. Every man’s dream one might think, except
that problems arise of the monetary kind (playing this type of dress-up doesn’t
come cheap) and they are having to survive without his wife’s salary. Perhaps it would be better if Judy were more
like her friend Fran (Kathryn Drysdale)
who, whilst enjoying the dressing up and attending Jivestock, hasn’t turned her
whole life into an episode of Happy Days.
But then Fran
doesn’t share her friend’s dysfunctional childhood, comprising a nasty parental
divorce and early years spent in a hippie feminist commune. A factor of Judy’s need for domesticity and
the knowledge that there is a place for everything and everything in its place. Plus, as the compliant domestic goddess, she
is as far removed from her latter day Greenham Common mother, Sylvia’s (Sian Thomas) ideal as it’s possible to
be. Not that she doesn’t still think of
herself as a feminist, and demonstrates this with her counter arguments whilst being
hilariously confronted by Sylvia berating her daughter’s lifestyle choice. Other feminist issues are also raised. They
include the #MeToo movement, as Fran’s husband Marcus (Barnaby Kay) is guilty
of sexual harassment in the workplace and the problems Johnny has in dealing
with a younger female boss.
Tamara Harvey has done an excellent job
directing this terrific ensemble but it is Katherine
Parkinson who drives the piece. She
is perfect at playing a character, who despite being on the cusp of descending
into absolute despair, does so with an equal amount of hilarity. Sian
Thomas is equally fine and the highlight of the play is her hilarious rant
against the subjugation of women.
There are times
when the play sags very slightly in the middle, mostly when some cast members
break off the dialogue and break into a “Strictly” jive routine, but
as a whole this is a very clever take on a very emotive subject.
Does it make
one yearn to return to the Fifties way of life?
Absolutely not!
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