Marking the 50th anniversary of the death of acclaimed playwright R C Sherriff, Home at Seven returns to London for the first time since its 1950 West End premiere.
Presented at the Tabard Theatre from 2nd to 20th September, this psychological mystery follows David Preston, a man who returns home to discover he’s been missing for 24 hours. Unable to recall the lost day, he finds himself implicated in a theft and murder.
Set five years after the Second World War, the play explores themes of lost time and the fragile façade of normalcy in post-war Britain. Director Claire Evans brings a fresh interpretation to the piece, drawing parallels with contemporary experiences of disruption and recovery.
“Sherriff’s legacy has been somewhat dominated by the success of Journey’s End, and so, in this anniversary year, I was keen to look at his other work and, in my research, I came upon Home at Seven,” said Evans. “It is a mystery drama set and written in 1950, five years after the end of the second World War when the country was still in recovery, dealing with rationing and processing the six years in which everything had been up ended.”
Evans continued, “I saw some resonance with our own times, having so recently gone through the shock of 2020. The play is about an unremarkable man navigating his way through an extraordinary series of events. Sherriff examines the little lies we tell ourselves and each other to maintain the fragile veneer of civilised life and how small deceptions can detonate and overturn our everyday existence.”
Following its London run, Home at Seven will tour four venues in Elmbridge, supported by the RC Sherriff Trust. Sherriff, who lived in Elmbridge, bequeathed his home to the borough council to support arts and culture, a legacy continued through this production.
The cast includes Maddie Crofts, Sam Ellis, Greg Fitch, Bridget Lambert, Karl Moffatt, Jeremy Todd, and Andrew Williams. The creative team features set designer David Fitzhugh, lighting designer Marta Fossati, costume designer Janet Huckle, and production assistant Jack Cavendish.
Claire Evans’ recent directing credits include Absent Friends, Codpieces, Handbagged, Taking Steps, and Bobby and Amy at OSO Arts Centre, as well as Air Swimming at the Union Theatre and a concert version of A Change in the Heir at Jermyn Street Theatre.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
