Rules for Living at the Lichfield Garrick – Review
Lichfield Players
Lichfield Garrick Studio Theatre
Wednesday 12 February 2025
Review by Jono Oates
Christmas seems a long time ago, but the latest production from the Lichfield Players at the Lichfield Garrick Studio theatre takes us right back to the tradition of the family Christmas meals, a time of joy, celebration and thanksgiving…but also, in some cases, a time of stress, arguments and recrimination!
Rules for Living is a play by dramatist Sam(antha) Holcroft, who devised the play while sitting in the espresso bar of the National Theatre, on the South Bank, London, in the early 2010s. Sam had been researching Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (which helps people to manage their mental health issues through therapy). The play was performed first at the National in 2015, with a cast list which included Miles Jupp, Stephen Mangan and Claudie Blakely.
The play revolves around a dysfunctional family who gather round the table for a Christmas Day lunch. The main characters are squabbling brothers Matthew and Adam, Matthew’s partner Carrie, Adam’s wife Sheena along with the brother’s mum Edith and dad Francis.
The morning of the lunch goes well, with the family members happy to see each other after an absence, and pleased to hear that dad Francis is returning to the family home after an illness. Adam and Sheena’s teenage daughter, Emma, who suffers from anxiety and is reluctant to join the other family members, preferring to stay in her own room.
However, as the drink flows, and the insecurities and sibling rivalry of the family bubble to the surface, the atmosphere takes a darker, more menacing, turn and, as the lunch approaches, the family meal descends in to chaos, leading to a violent confrontation amongst the brussel sprouts and gravy. Will the family survive the outcome of the lunch, or will the Christmas spirit be lost for ever – and will young Emma finally make an appearance?
Rules for Living is a play that delivers everything – comedy, drama, empathy, slapstick, violence, tenderness, divided family loyalties, mental health issues and therapy. The comedy runs throughout the play, apart from the final scenes, and there are some laugh-out loud lines, comic observations of the family Christmas lunch where everyone should be on their best behaviour, but fail to do so, and some physical knockabout fun, with food and drink liberally spread about the stage.
The drama, however, is also very apparent, and, as the play draws to a close it is a very emotional, and moving, final few scenes, and the appreciative Lichfield audience were moved from laughter to silence and retrospection.
The Rules for Living describe the rules that each of the characters abided by during their interplay with the other characters during the family gathering, so telling us how a character might behave under certain situations. These rules were, cleverly, ‘post-it’ noted for us on a large screen at the back of the stage, so we could see how each character was about to behave.
The cast all performed superbly on opening night, and hit their marks straight away. Eoin Edwards as the humble, mild-mannered Matthew whose relationship with his girlfriend, the ebullient, slightly crazy, Carrie, played by Hannah Britnell, was severely tested during the course of the lunch. Steve Male played brother Adam, wise-cracking, acerbic and patronising, whose relationship with wife Sheena was at breaking-point, and used an impressive range of regional accents from around the country to hide his true feelings. His long-suffering wife was played by Rebecca Hyland, another character with a mask of insecurity, and determined to keep off the drink, despite being in a house filled with the Christmas spirits, of the alcoholic variety. Edith, played by Niamh Mahon, is the mother of the household, trying desperately to keep the family unit in one piece, while also trying to keep the family home clean and spick and span. Rob Lewis is patriarch Francis who returns to the family home just in time for the turkey dinner, but, as he recovers from a stroke, he clearly still has a wandering eye, as well as a wandering hand, when it comes to his son’s partners…
The play is directed by experienced Lichfield Players actor and director Sarah Stanley, and superbly orchestrates a fine performance from all of the actors, and a special mention to the fight scenes which as well as being very funny, are also very realistic – although Sarah assures me that no actors were harmed in the production of the play! The set design (also by Sarah) is simple, but very effective, and as you leave the stage do please take care as you may find a stray brussel sprout has escaped across the floor!
Rules for Living is a funny, bright, emotive, dramatic and thought-provoking play which had me, and the rest of the audience, laughing, sighing, crying, cheering and, of course, applauding. I would definitely recommend it, a superb evening’s entertainment, great value for money, and well worth watching.
Please note that the play contains strong language and adult themes and is not suitable for young children
Rules for Living, by the Lichfield Players, is on at the Lichfield Garrick Studio Theatre, until Saturday 15 February, evening performances start at 7.45pm and there is a matinee performance on Saturday at 2.45pm. The play has one interval and finishes at 10.30pm approximately. Tickets start from £18.50 and can be booked by ringing the Box Office on 01543 412121, calling in to the Garrick Box Office on Castle Dyke during normal opening hours, or by booking online at:
www.lichfieldgarrick.com/events/rules-for-living-lichfield-players
