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Stars explained: * A production of no real merit
with failings in all areas. ** A production showing evidence of not
enough time or effort, or even talent, and which never breathes any real
life into the piece – or a show lumbered with a terrible script. *** A
good enjoyable show which might have some small flaws but has largely
achieved what it set out to do.**** An excellent show which shows a
great deal of work and stage craft with no noticeable or major
flaws.***** A four star show which has found that extra bit of magic
which lifts theatre to another plane. |
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Jessica Schneider as Judy, Louise Fulwell as Alex and Stefan Austin as Johnny Home, I’m Darling The Nonentities The Rose Theatre, Kidderminster ***** Judy and Johnny live an idyllic life, a picture of old fashioned, married bliss at the centre of Laura Wade’s Olivier award winning play; they are the model happy housewife and breadwinner, a poster couple for the 1950s . . . the only problem being that we, and they, despite their apparently terminal nostalgia, are now in the 2020s. You see Judy, an outstanding and quite wonderful performance by Jessica Schneider, has lost her high-powered job in finance and decided to become not just a housewife but a 1950’s housewife, aided, or perhaps, if he is honest, as we are to discover later, more indulged by husband Johnny, who is quite believable, despite being an estate agent, in a fine performance by Stefan Austin. It was to be for six months, a bit of fun, and here we are some three years on and some 70 years back. They have converted their home, or perhaps reverted being more apt, into a homage to the 1950s with an ancient refrigerator that works when it feels like it, an Austin car with all the reliability of the era and decoration, furniture and fittings from the faithful days of yore right down to the ducks on the wall and the 1950’s iconic Piquot ware tray and tea set – made from Magnailiam, an alloy of manganese and aluminium, if you are interested . . . Judy is happy gardening, looking after her man, cooking and cleaning, with the added bonus of having the time to clean behind and under things – under being where the dilemma of this situation lurks hidden beneath the Formica worksurface, where the little woman of the 1950s and the gender politics of the 21st century clash, even hinting at the growth of #MeTo – hashtags . . . in the 1950s? The only internet around then was the lacy curtains to stop people looking in through your windows. Her embracing of an era she never lived in creates a strange juxtaposition in that she has converted her high-powered management skills into running the home, and running Johnny’s life, while at the same time diminishing the position of a wife to the little woman, keeping house and serving her man’s every need. She has become both master and servant. Judy’s close friend is Fran, a delightful performance by Amy Cooper, who is intrigued by Judy’s lifestyle, even prepared to read her book of household tips although don’t hold your breath waiting for the conversion to fiftieshood, she is more an interested observer.
Joan Wakeman as mum, Sylvia, Jessica Schneider as Judy and Amy Cooper as friend Fran
She and her husband Marcus, a rather creepy sort (never trust a bloke in black jeans as we used to say back in the day) played in a rather creepy way by Chris Kay, had joined Judy and Johnny for the past two years at JiveStock, a weekend festival of 50’s dance and music. This year as the retro weekend is broached, Judy discovers that her friends have decided to have a holiday/belated honeymoon/whatever . . . and give this year a miss. Judy’s world is slowly starting to fall apart. Then there was Alex, Johnny’s boss Alex, played with a lovely air of mild bewilderment by Louise Fulwell as she steps back 70 years to enter Judy’s world. It’s a funny name Alex, it can be a bloke, as Judy mistakenly thought, or a woman, as Johnny sort of lusted (a bit ) over, oh and there is the impending promotion that could provide a boost to the somewhat strained 1950’s finances. So, to grease the wheels, they invite Alex over for cocktails 1950’s style. That’s bound to go down well . . . Judy’s mother, Sylvia, a formidable performance by Joan Wakeman, makes no bones about telling her daughter she is mad. An old women’s libber, commune dweller, CND stalwart, she sees her daughter’s obsession with the 50s and becoming the little woman a betrayal of everything she and the sisterhood had fought for. It’s all a little standard run of the mill parent child bickering until the second act when she launches into a powerful, no holds barred, tell it like it was lengthy monologue which earned a sustained round of applause. Worth the ticket price alone. It told her daughter just a little of what the 1950s were like for those who actually lived through them, the cold homes and hardships, the non-existent rights of wives and women in general, sexual abuse at home and in work, and it begged its own question when she accuses her daughter of being nostalgic when she wasn’t even there. Can you really be nostalgic for something you have never experienced? Marcus, incidentally, one might even say helpfully for illustrative purposes, shows himself to be a throwback to the days of the sexual predator given almost free rein in the 50’s workplace in a scene where humour is enveloped in darkness.
Judy jiving to La Bamba with Chris Kay's Marcus with Jan Eglinton's set - complete with Dansette record player, in the background Sadly, once the first stone is displaced an avalanche quickly builds. The bank expects the 1950’s home to pay its 21st century mortgage, the estate agency expects its staff to hit their modest sales targets to earn their commission (see bank request above) and to add to Judy’s woes her mother tells her what the father she has idolised all these years was really like. It’s a secret she has protected her daughter from for all her 38 years. This is uncomfortable comedy, a couple living in a fantasy cocooned 50’s world, yet needing the modern world outside to survive, needing a laptop, the internet and eBay to buy their authentic 50’s paraphernalia and spare parts, and the modern trend of vintage shops to buy their clothes. It’s a life choice rather than style which clashes with the world outside leaving Judy stoutly defending a position women have fought to leave firmly in the very past she inhabits. It is a clash that brings both laughs and poses questions of how we and attitudes have changed. The cast, led by the brilliant Jessica Schneider, are superb, bringing their characters to life with director Richard Taylor cleverly using them in pairs as stylised stage hands which adds interest to scene changes on a set full of authenticity designed by Jen Eglinton. The authenticity is enhanced by David Wakeman’s sound with a sort of Now that’s what I call the 50s selection at every scene change with the likes of Richie Valens, Buddy Holly and The Everly Brothers – for some of the audience that really was nostalgia. I saw the professional tour of the play last year, and this production stands the comparison superbly, indeed it adds a new element from being in the more intimate surroundings of a smaller theatre. It might be a comedy, but it makes you to think beyond the laughs and it has an inherent sadness about it so much so that you end up really feeling for Judy and Johnny and the dilemma they have created for themselves as their make-believe world falls apart leaving their love story looking for a time to call home. I have never liked the title, it appears to be written by someone unfamiliar with the English language, but don’t let that put you off. It is a clever play, witty, multi-faceted and thoughtful, performed here at an engaging pace and to the high standard we have come to expect from the company. It will make you laugh, out loud at times, you will cringe at times and it will give you something to think about on the way home – all in all a very satisfying night of theatre. To 14-09-24. Roger Clarke 09-09-24 |
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