Calling all StageSiders, welcome back to another review here at StageSideUK. This time around we are talking about Just Between Ourselves, which played at the Darlington Hippodrome on the 15th April 2025. Settle in, make a brew and lets dive into this review!
Disclaimer: I was gifted 2 free press tickets in exchange for an honest review.
Alan Ayckbourn’s Just Between Ourselves is a piece of theatrical machinery, and with this production by London Classic Theatre, the engine hums. I really have to start with an acknowledgement of the cast and crew. Each actor gave a really impressive performance, the effects were well placed and well operated and the design is just gorgeous!
The show is described as follows:
It is 1976. Dennis tinkers in his garage, cheerfully indifferent to wife Vera’s impending breakdown. Marjorie hovers in the background, making tea and finding fault. Neil has planned a birthday surprise for his wife, but Pam doesn’t share his enthusiasm, preoccupied by frustrations of her own.
In perhaps his most emotionally charged play, Alan Ayckbourn masterfully evokes a world of hidden tensions and suppressed hostility. He skilfully navigates the tightrope between comedy and tragedy, guiding us towards a hilarious, yet chilling finale.
There’s a lot to love with Just Between Ourselves. As I said previously, the cast are excellent each actor giving a great performance both individually and when working as an ensemble. The team posses a certain chemistry that brings Ayckbourn’s darkly comic world to life and reads really well. The play shifts in tone from gently amusing to quietly unsettling, and the cast are there to guide the narrative through.
A special shout out goes to Holly Smith who playes Vee. She played this role so well, and really gave it her all. I was in stitches laughing at her open conversation about the cars history.
Design-wise, this production is simply pretty. Literally. The show is so pedestrian and mundane (in its relatability) and the design of the costumes, lighting and set are all inkeeping with this theme. The set is functional and symbolic – a cluttered domestic space brimming with half finished tasks and a pile of broken pieces, mirroring the unravelling chaos of the characters’ lives. The costumes fit so well too.
However, while the production is strong, the structure of the play itself seems challenging in only one section. Scene Two of Act Two arrives with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. After the slow-burn comedic pacing of the preceding scenes, particularly the emotionally and chaotically charged Scene One in Act Two – the final scene feels like an added on extension. It jolts the audience into a vertigo moment, as if the rug has been pulled from under our feet just as we found our balance. I understand that this might be the intended dramatic payoff, but I think it risks losing the emotional subtlety that we had come to enjoy throughout Act 1. I understand this is the styling of the play text and not something that the company have done themselves, but this did feel a little odd.
It’s an evening of strong performances, really stylish design choices, and deeply relatable British dysfunction – served with wit, good timing and just enough bite.
Accessibility
The show does not feature any particular special effects that had triggered a response from me. There is a moment where Pam stumbles and makes a loud sudden bang, but this is ambient and isn’t too loud.
Value for money
With the Darlington Hippodrome offering £15 Lucky Hipp seats, the show is a steal. £15 is a corker price for the show. The higher end seats are around £30. I think this is fair, baring in mind the costume sourcing, set sourcing and design and the talent on stage.
Tickets and more information about the show are available here.
Have your say!
Have you seen Just Between Ourselves by London Classic Theatre? Let me know in the comments and let’s get a discussion going.
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