Film & Theatre, Reviews | Posted on October 29th, 2026 | return to news

Review: Home, I’m Darling

Bournemouth Little Theatre, Winton

The maxim “never work with children and animals” often extends to food and drink. Rarely seen in live productions, due to their slip, choking or escape-artist hazard tendencies, it was delightful to see the cast of Home I’m Darling going about their days with a regular diet of breakfast, dinner and party food, even in dialogue-heavy scenes.

A key part of 1950s life, the food is as much a part of the scenery as the vibrant furniture, period electricals and glorious between-scenes soundtrack. They all help set the platform for the trials and tribulations of Judy (Lauren Killham) and Johnny (Sam Sheppard) in their escapist ideal, as the wheels rapidly come off their lives though bittersweet disasters, crushed by the modern world they are also forced to inhabit.

Enabled or impaired by long-time friends, Fran (Karthika [Karthy] Sreekala) and Marcus (Seth Martin), Judy’s actions and extensive monologues (often while she’s nibbling away) travel abroad emotional range to deliver the light-then-heavy disasters that befall her.

Along for the ride are thoroughly modern boss Alex (Fiona Fox) and long-suffering mother Sylvia (Jane Kerfoot), all adding different tensions and reality checks from their own perspectives, as politics and gender roles are hung out to dry on the rotary washing line of life.

They also get star turns when their side of the sixpence drops, with Director Tim Fearon presumably a restrained hand behind the scenes. With a wide age range in the audience, there was a little something for everyone among the jokes and nods to vintage or modern living, with the arrival of devilled eggs getting a particular groan.

Home, I’m Darling runs until 31 October, all tickets are sold out.