REVIEW: Housemates at the Sherman Theatre
A hit play which helped celebrate Sherman Theatre's 50th birthday in 2023 is back this week - to a rapturous reception.
Housemates by Tim Green, is an energetic, moving, and often very funny play, which tells how a well-intentioned but ill-informed Cardiff University student in the early 1970s set about improving the lot of learning-disabled people confined to Ely Hospital.
Initially, Jim (Peter Mooney) volunteers to take two of them to the park, but then he sneaks them into a pub to see his friend's band, and pretty soon he's campaigning for them to move out and live as housemates with him and his friend Sally (Emily Ivana Hawkins - what a singing voice she has, by the way!).
It's a David-and-Goliath battle, which against all the odds, he eventually wins - changing not just the lives of his new friends, Alan (Gareth John), Heather (Lindsay Spellman), and John (Matthew Mullins), but ultimately the lives of people in such 'hospitals' throughout the UK and around the world.
Because Jim's campaign spawned the spread of what became known as supported living and the closure of these institutions, where people were often locked away from birth - fed, sedated, and put to bed - to protect them (as the authorities saw it) from the confusing and dangerous world outside.
It's an unbelievable story, but it happens to be true. And what's more, the student house where this experiment took place was in Ruthin Gardens - in the heart of student land, virtually across the road from the Sherman Theatre.
The local connection adds a certain familiarity, but I'm sure this play would be no less impactful to audiences in Exeter, Paris, or New York. It's a universal tale of an ordinary person recognising an injustice and having the courage and determination to get it changed.
A super soundtrack of '70s hits drives the story forward and is played live on stage by members of the incredibly talented cast. It also serves as a poignant reminder that the people living in the hospital never get to hear music - except Alan, who sneaks down a corridor every night to hear a distant radio and dreams of becoming a rock star.
The cast really is superb - I haven't yet mentioned Caitlin Lavagna as Sian, the librarian whose expertise helps Jim present his case to the hospital board; James Ifan (who's also the musical director) as hospital board member, Birch; Eveangeleis Tudball as fish finger-loving nurse Julie; and Richard Newnham as hospital boss, Dr Cooper, who's close to being the villain of the piece.
With its engaging cast of neurodivergent and neurotypical performers including members of Hijinx Theatre, this is an uplifting show, which will not only convince you that we can change things for the better - it may also send you seeking out the hits of Slade and T.Rex. Which is no bad thing.
It received a standing ovation at last night's (Monday 24 February) press night, and if you can, I'd urge you to see if for yourself. Before last night's show, we were even treated to a few extra songs from the band as the auditorium filled and the energy built.
Directed by Joe Murphy and Ben Pettitt-Wade, Housemates runs at the Sherman until 8 March. You can find out more and buy tickets here.
It then moves to Aberystwyth Arts Centre 27-29 March and The Torch Theatre, Milford Haven 2-4 April. And other tour dates may yet be added.
Review by Andy Weltch
We received free tickets for this performance in exchange for an honest review
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