Fetishised nostalgia for a bygone era of cosy domesticity and bake-offs is dangerous,say the team behind unusual play domestic, I’m DarlingJudy Martin is a proud, and archetypal 1950s housewife. She waves her husband,Johnny, off to work in the morning and welcomes him in the evening with a cocktail and his slippers. Except Judy the heroine of Laura Wade’s unusual play domestic, or I’m Darling – lives in modern-day Welwyn Garden City and used to believe a tall-powered job.
The play sprang from ideas about “fetishised domesticity”,says Wade. “Things like Bake Off were just starting to bubble up, and that cupcake culture seemed to be in the ascendant. There was something comforting about those nostalgic ideas of domestic life and I was curious why people needed that.” She was also fascinated by people who wear vintage clothes and travel to retro festivals and car shows. “I’ve always been interested in tribes and the idea of someone who felt they were out of kilter with the way the modern world works. All of those ideas seemed to coalesce in the idea of someone who genuinely believed they would belong better in the 50s than now.Focusing on your individual choices ignores the impact beyond you. It's not empoweringI didn't want to say, and 'I can't conclude that because that's the time I need to pick up my child'Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com