This revival of Caryl Churchill’s pungent 1972 comedy about the battle for home ownership and the perils of renting is both rare and timely. The play was first staged as house prices soared during Conservative chancellor Anthony Barber’s “dash for growth”, a disaster with parallels to last year’s mini-budget.
Churchill’s thesis that “owners” call the shots in England still rings true: when Rishi Sunak dropped the target of building 300,000 houses a year, further thwarting those seeking a first home, it was to placate rebellious owners on the backbenches. Stella Powell-Jones’s revival comes amid the highest costs ever recorded for private renting, which research recently linked to faster biological ageing – suggested by the play’s weary young tenants.
