Home, I'm Darling

With the rise of images of domestic bliss on Instagram mood boards, and a generation hoarding plants and yearning for a simple life, it’s easy to catch yourself washing some dishes thinking, "This isn’t so bad, maybe I should've lived in an earlier time..." Then, Laura Wade’s award-winning Home, I’m Darling slaps you right out of it. 

Home, I’m Darling is about a couple trying to give the 1950s a red hot go. Johnny wakes every day, happy they are in their caricature of a '50s home. He puts on a fedora and goes to work while Judy is left to the business of the house. It’s all very quaint until you realise, they are not in the '50s, they are living in the present day and are desperately trying to recreate another era – from movies to books to music – even though they never actually lived through the period. 

The show tackles questions of feminism and choice in a heartfelt and non-judgemental way. While Judy – played by Nikki Shiels – makes a strong (albeit delusional) case for choosing to be a housewife, her mother, Sylvia – played by Jane Turner – who actually lived through the '50s and watched her own mother play the housewife role – reminds us how bizarre and disrespectful it is for us to try throw away the freedoms the older generations fought for.

The show is so much fun and a gentle, entertaining reminder that we should both be thankful for where we are as a society and that there is still so much further to go. The acting is warm, and the charismatic relationship between Shiels and Toby Truslove as Judy and Johnny proves a solid foundation for the play's humour and drama.

Renee Mulder’s set and costumes make this show what it is. The reveal of the astonishingly large and so intricately detailed dollhouse was a breathtaking start to the show. Just seeing the actors interact with the set, walking in and out of rooms, was so surreal. Jethro Woodward’s sound design brought it all together, with comedic shifts in tone, and the '50s sitcom music building a well-rounded world for the characters.

Home, I’m Darling is a strong start to MTC’s 2020 season. It’s funny and witty, with a visual spectacle not to miss and a concept that is worryingly apt.