The story of gay Irishmen who came to London in the late 1980s to escape the prejudice and hatred they experienced in their own country is one worth telling. Mammy’s House, created by Derek Murphy and Amy Clarke, takes us into the lives of some of those men during the AIDS crisis, and, importantly, remembers not only those who died but the people who nursed and cared for them when so many others walked away.
Mammy (Derek Murphy) opens his Camden townhouse as a refuge for Irish transplants where they find companionship and solace. Among those who live in or pass through the house is Mags (Jemma Curran), a lesbian former nurse trainee who once lacked the confidence to trust her instincts but now throws herself into caring for AIDS patients and fundraising on their behalf. There is also Niall, or Nellie, played by Connor O’Dwyer, a flamboyant, flirtatious 19-year-old with ambitions to become a drag artist. When Shay, sensitively played by Justin Ensor, stays at Mammy’s for a few nights, a one-night stand with Nellie unexpectedly changes their lives. Rounding out the group is Shay’s mother, Sally, convincingly portrayed by Ciara Pouncett, who returns to Mammy’s and makes a surprising discovery about herself.
There is a lot here that deserves attention. The play wants to capture both the terrible human cost of the AIDS crisis and the defiant spirit that emerged in response to it. Drag, humour, friendship and sheer determination become ways of surviving a period in which gay men were often met with fear, prejudice and rejection. There is also an important story about the community having to care for its own, particularly when the medical establishment could be so unwilling or ill-equipped to do so. The experiences of AIDS patients in many American hospitals and the contrast with the care provided by friends and fellow members of the gay community are especially powerful material.
Sadly, Mammy’s House never quite turns those ambitions into a fully realised play.
The script feels closer to an early draft than a finished piece. There are good ideas and some genuinely affecting moments, but the dialogue doesn’t always flow naturally and the connections between the characters and their stories can feel underdeveloped. The play seems to exist in two rather different modes. The first half leans heavily into camp, wit and flirtation, while the second becomes much darker as Nellie’s illness progresses and we witness the physical and emotional devastation of AIDS. The shift is understandable, but it isn’t sufficiently integrated, so the two halves feel incongruent, rather than one story gathering momentum.
The production doesn’t always help. The acting is uneven, with some performances feeling genuinely engaged while others seem to skim the surface of their characters. At times, the cast appear to be moving through the rather uneven dialogue rather than fully inhabiting their roles, which makes it difficult for the emotional weight of the material to land.
Brian Brady’s direction also leaves the production feeling less assured than it might be. There is a great deal of movement around the set, but it often feels awkward rather than purposeful, and the townhouse itself seems somewhat plonked into the black-box space rather than becoming an organic part of the storytelling. From where I was sitting, I also found quite a lot of the dialogue difficult to hear. At times the actors were speaking too softly; at others they were facing upstage. In a play so dependent on the relationships between its characters and on the words they use to tell this story, that is a frustrating problem.
There is a worthwhile story struggling to get out. The history behind Mammy’s House is important, and the idea of looking at the AIDS crisis through the particular experience of gay Irishmen who came to London is compelling. There are also moments when the warmth of the house and the fierce loyalty between the characters give us a glimpse of the play it could become.
But too much remains underdeveloped, and too much of the production feels tentative. The subject deserves something with greater dramatic shape, stronger characterisation and a more confident theatrical language. Mammy’s House has plenty of heart, but in its current form it doesn’t yet have the theatrical strength to match the importance of the story it wants to tell.
Created by: Derek Murphy and Amy Clarke
Written by :Amy Clarke
Director: Brian Brady
Cast includes: Derek Murphy, Jemma Curran, Conor O’Dwyer, Justin Ensor, Ciara Pouncett
Running time: 2 hours, including 1 interval
Until: 13 September
Photo Credit: Katherine Hill