A return visit to Home, I’m Darling at the Duke of York’s Theatre just confirms how good a play this is and how exceptional Katherine Parkinson is
“You’re 38 and like cleaning behind cupboards”
I don’t think she’ll win but I reckon Katherine Parkinson deserves the Best Actress in a Play Olivier just for the way that she holds her head. The first act in particular is an absolute delight as she tells us crystal clear exactly how she is feeling just by the angle at which it is tilted – cringing at bad language, sussing out competition for her husband’s attention, listening to her mother…
Parkinson is far from the only reason to book for Laura Wade’s Home, I’m Darling, maintaining the National’s track record of leveraging sell-out runs in the Dorfman into West End transfers (Beginning, Nine Night…). Anna Fleischle’s design is a thing of wonder (and I liked getting to see it from above from the upper circle here as opposed to the Dorfman’s stalls) and every single detail is perfectly observed, right down to the milk bottle tops.
I haven’t too much more to say about the play that I didn’t already cover in my original review, other than to credit Tamara Harvey’s direction once again. The production swells effectively to fit the West End house here and loses nothing in the transition; the new cast members all slot in seamlessly to the company (I missed Barnaby Kay but only for selfish reasons…); and as if there was any doubt, Parkinson is a bona fide star who we need more of on our stages.
