Glasgow Herald

Home Hindrance

Opening up one’s home to strangers is a risky business. It’s the internal workings, be it fleck wallpaper or smelly toilets, that reveal the state we’re in. Yet this is what writer/performer David Leddy and his partner Calum McCallum have done in Leddy’s new play, a co-production with director Matthew Lenton’s Vanishing Point company. With an audience of six in the living room of their hosts’ 16-storey flat, it becomes an even more up close and personal kind of make-believe wake for terminally ill Rory, who Home Hindrance revolves around.

A best mate’s unrequited love comes with a snapshots etched into memory. Rory’s sister Joanna, diagnosed with cancer, attempts to live healthily, while an old pal knocks back the booze. Finally, Rory’s true-love Leah relives those gorgeous unplanned intimacies that defined their affair. As the bedroom light goes out, it’s an elegy for the worst scenario.

That this is done in vivid, space-invading close-up feels like one is intruding on private grief. Each character’s acknowledgement of their own artifice makes for a candid experience that might not stand up beyond its chosen setting. Nevertheless, there’s an inherent poignancy at play, and affectingly honest performances, especially from Clare Yuille as Leah. Leddy thought the worst, and created something beautiful.