HOME TIME One Festival: Programme C – The Space, London **** Writer: David Hendon / Director Paula Chitty The evening’s most horrific story comes with an almighty emotional punch that carefully sidesteps the sentimental as David Hendon explores the effect of a shock tragedy on a single mother in Home Time. Waiting for her 7-year-old son to return, the mother, played with affecting depth by Elizabeth George, begins to relay the story of her life and how she came to be a parent. Hendon slowly builds the story, first by mining the frustrations of parenthood and the backstory of this little family before walking the audience through the immediate and galling aftermath of the tragedy. George is perhaps a little too calm as she narrates the effect of those moments, but the overall effect of this little play is a powerful one. Review Overview The Reviews Hub Score “”””

Review of The One Festival at The Space

JANUARY 12, 2018 LAST UPDATED: JANUARY 12, 2018 4:30 PM BY Laura Thomas Elizabeth George gave a powerful performance as the harassed single mum Jennifer in David Hendon’s Home Time. Movement and timing were well directed by Paula Chitty, but the play was overlong, both in real time and the narrative arc it covered. Tending toward melodrama, it was a tragic story, but without the cathartic kick of a tragedy. Nevertheless, a compelling and gripping tale well executed. **** Review by Laura Thomas

Frank Kaye (Sardines review) 7th October

Hometime written by David Hendon and directed by Paula Chitty, was a triumph. Someone sat behind me said that we should have stood to applaud and I agree. Elizabeth George, who plays the sole protagonist, Jennifer, trained in both acting and mime and this is the perfect single hander for an actor with those skills. It is impossible to untangle the roles of writer, director and actor in achieving the outcome but that is what great theatre is all about. We are taken on a journey from the joy of a mother at home with a small child, through the mixed blessing of her meeting the father who only lasts a year to the final inevitable tragedy. The structure of the play is crucial, starting and ending in the present but going back in time for the middle sections. The structure is overlaid with beautifully written dialogue and then the genius element is the miming of the story. After about ten minutes I began to find the mime a bit distracting but the shift to a night club with appropriate music which ended with a perfectly timed crash and then the ultimate recognition that all this activity was the way that Jennifer coped with the loss resolved my concerns. The beauty of the writing, acting and direction was the way that we were given pictures of the many characters through the vivid descriptions. Ffion and her father stick in my mind especially when the father says he will “send a car” to pick up his seven-year old from the scene of a tragedy. Modern theatre often foregrounds objects, giving them equal status with actors. This play not only has some very simple objects – a red fire-engine, an ironing board, children’s’ clothes but also some vibrant images inserted into our imagination such the green fire-engine drawn by the little boy – which begins and ends the play. We also saw Jennifer laying out clothes on the floor as representations of her child and her schoolfriends. This last would work so much better in a studio theatre with raked seating.