Review: BLESSINGS, Riverside Studios

The sixties were a time of seismic social change. Attitudes towards religion, sex and female emancipation were shifting. Sarah Shelton's Blessings introduces us to the Deacon family who gather at Easter in 1969, conflicted by traditional Catholic influences and the new social norms. This potentially interesting premise is unfortunately undermined by a stuttering structure and meandering plotlines.

The Deacons go to church and return home for a family lunch. Father Frank is at the pub. Eldest siblings Martin and Penny have returned, middle daughter Francis is missing and youngest daughter Sally tries to help her harried mother Dolly set the table. The parish priest, Father O'Brien, is on his way and asking a lot of questions.

Writer Sarah Shelton worked as a script editor on Channel 5 soap Family Affairs and you can see the influence in the subjects covered. Religion, illicit affairs, teenage pregnancy, family rifts, money troubles, past secrets and fledgling romances. The problem is that there is too much crammed in; no subject gets sufficient space to breathe and create sufficient emotional impact.

There are also too many characters to be able to invest enough time into their stories. Elder siblings Martin and Penny contribute little to the plot and Sally's new boyfriend Peter fails to add much to her story. The production was originally conceived for television and the short and jarringly choppy scene changes mean that rather than an intense family drama, we see a series of vignettes that lack flow. Dialogue often feels forced and many scenes outstay their welcome.

The cast has mixed success with the material. Hannah Traylen is a standout as rebellious Francis; spirited and wanting more from life than her current situation allows. Traylen brings believable nuance and heart to the role.

Emily Lane is sweetly amenable as Sally, increasingly questioning what she always accepted within the family. Milly Roberts plays one-dimentional eldest daughter Penny as aloof and opinionated, getting more depth as Sally's Best Friend Vita. Freddie Webster plays both overbearing brother Martin and louche boyfriend Peter, each no more than a caricature.

Anna Acton is brittle and buttoned-up as the put-upon Dolly and Gary Webster is convincing as Frank, a father under huge pressure, but a little less so as the ever-present Irish Father O'Brien.

Alice Carroll's set and costume design are bright and garish; clashing patterned wallpaper and an entertainment sideboard are nice period touches. Frances sports huge backcombed hair and vividly patterned trousers, a stark visual contrast to her mother's prim chignon and austere clothing.

This production appeared at Riverside's Bitesize Festival last July and hasn't been refined sufficiently to convince as a play. There is real potential for a compelling family drama, but currently it feels like too many ideas from a weak soap opera, crammed into 90 minutes.

Blessings is at Riverside Studios until 26 October