REVIEW: MAMMY'S HOUSE @ UPSTAIRS AT THE GATEHOUSE

🎭 Mammy's House

📍 Upstairs at the Gatehouse, 1 North Road, Highgate Village, London, N6 4BD

🗓 Wednesday 2nd September 2026

⭐️ 2 Stars

MAMMY'S HOUSE HAS A FIRM FOUNDATION BUT SHAKY WALLS

After learning of some major issues on the Northern line last night, I quickly had to swap my travel plans and ended up taking three different buses just to make sure I arrived at Upstairs at the Gatehouse on time for the press night of MAMMY’S HOUSE.

Regular readers of mine will already know that I am a massive supporter of Queer theatre, so this one really intrigued me as a concept. A play exploring the untold stories of a queer Irish household carving out a chosen family in London at the height of the AIDS crisis? It promised to be both gritty and heartwarming.

The background here is deeply admirable. Creators Derek Murphy and Amy Clarke developed the script over two years, using first-hand testimony and interviews with members of London's historical Irish LGBTQ+ community. You absolutely cannot deny the beautiful intent behind the creation of MAMMY’S HOUSE. However, the execution of those ideas unfortunately stumbles over itself, leaving us with a show that is severely lacking in heart and theatricality.

A lot of the issues, sadly, are to be found right in Clarke’s script. What seems to have happened here is that absolutely all the information learnt through those community interviews has found its way onto the stage. The script suffers from trying to pack absolutely everything in. For me, all this achieved was turning the piece into more of an educational lesson, ticking off every historical aspect of the era rather than letting the story breathe.

Because of this heavy-handedness, the conversations between characters just didn't feel natural. People don't talk in this clunky, expository way, which ultimately meant there was no real believability in the characters. Everything felt a bit wooden and forced. Take the character of Niall - or Nellie, as he was affectionately known - seemed to have every single gay stereotype thrown at him at once. It was so over the top that I felt he was more of an amalgamation of Catherine Tate characters than a real human being. His comedic elements do however manage to lighten the darker moments.

None of this is the fault of the cast, mind you, but rather the creatives. Alongside the script issues, Brian Brady’s direction didn't seem to know what it was doing. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but the physical positioning of the characters at times felt weird. I think it goes back to things feeling completely unnatural again.

There was also a prominent issue with pacing. In the opening scene, the actors seemed to speak at an absolute breakneck speed, meaning I missed large chunks of the dialogue. Thankfully, things did slow down a bit as the show progressed, but the transitions didn't fare any better.

Scene changes took far too long. At least in Act 1 there was music playing over these transitions, though there was a strange beat as we went into the interval where the staging made us think it was just another scene change - before the house lights suddenly snapped up! By Act 2, they seemed to have completely abandoned the transition music altogether. This left us with awkward, prolonged silences between scenes that made absolutely no sense whatsoever. To top it off, there was a weird moment towards the end where I - and I assume the rest of the audience - thought the show had actually finished. We all started to applaud, only to discover there was in fact another scene to come!

As a huge fan of technical theatre, I also have to say that I was hugely disappointed in the lighting. Firstly, the design itself was quite uninspiring, but the operation on the night was just poor. It was erratic at times, and when the audience were walking out at the end, the house lights couldn't decide if they wanted to come up or stay down. Bizarre.

The set and prop designs are where this play really shines. As someone who grew up in the timeline of the play, I appreciated all the subtle nostalgic nods to the era, such as the walkman being tidied away. The set does fill the space well, and feels authentic.

The cast did their absolute best with the material they were given, with the standout performances coming from Justin Ensor and Jemma Curran. But overall, this was a tough watch - just not for the emotional reasons it should have been. This play attempts to deal with some really deep, vital themes, but because of the clunky structure of the piece, I really didn't care that much about any of the characters, and, dare I say it, I found myself becoming a bit bored.

I wholeheartedly applaud the intent and the history behind MAMMY’S HOUSE, but there is honestly a mountain of work to do here before this becomes the engaging, powerful piece of theatre it desperately wants to be.

If you want to make up your own mind, MAMMY'S HOUSE continues performances at Upstairs at the Gatehouse until Sunday 13th September. CLICK HERE for tickets.

Neill Kovacic-Clarke

All views are my own and I pride myself on being honest, fair and free from influence. Theatre is subjective and it is important to remember that all views expressed are just those of one reviewer.  

My ticket for this performance of Mammy's House was gifted by Chloe Nelkin Consulting, who invited me to watch the show in exchange for my honest review. The fact that my ticket was gifted played no part in the content of my review or the star rating given. 

CAST:

Derek Murphy as Mammy / Barry; Conor O'Dwyer as Niall / Nellie; Jemma Curran as Mags; Justin Ensor as Shay; Ciara Pouncett as Sally; Stephen Cheriton / Orla Nothin' as Justin / Ginny

RUNNING TIME (approx):

2 hours, including interval

CONTENT WARNINGS:

Depictions of the emotional toll, loss, and grief surrounding the AIDS crisis; Period-typical anti-Irish sentiment, homophobia, and social isolation; Strong, period-accurate language and coarse profanity; References to mature relationships, illness, and the struggles of end-of-life care

AGE RECOMMENDATION:

14+

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