Once in a House on Fire
Based on the memoir by Andrea Ashworth
Monkeywood Theatre
The Lowry, 31 March 2011
This play captures the emotion, resilience and humour of Andrea Ashworth’s fine memoir.
Her mother Lorrie, ably and admirably played by Francesca Waite, is attracted to violent men; or to men who turn violent when matters don’t turn out so well. Andrea and her two sisters – and her mother too – must cope with a chaotic home life, one eye always on an exit strategy.
The play doesn’t shy away from the depiction of domestic violence and abuse, and there’s one especially uncomfortable scene where Lorrie’s complicity is brought into question: she looks on as her daughter is disciplined (or better: bullied) by her partner. But the predominant mood is one of humour, arising from growing up, sticking together and getting on with the business of life.
There’s period detail within the play: an outside loo, references to wallpaper-backed textbooks and important initiation rituals like sneaking into Yates’s, maybe the same one that used to be at the end of Oldham Street. They used to do a neat All-In, I remember.
Once in a House on Fire is a terrific play, graced by excellent performances throughout; and the use (and apt choice) of songs and news items to segue from scene to scene was a splendid stroke. It is at The Lowry until 2 April, then it returns to The Lowry for a single night on 11 April. Details can be found here, here and here.
Jildy Sauce 