From Fray Bentos To Grenfell: Sheffield's Ordinary Lives, Extraordinarily Told

Set in the living room of a house on Burngreave Road, Sheffield, young Kathy and Brian settle to make their forever home. With young love in the air and babies on the way the world is their oyster, but over the sixty years that the play spans, inevitably life gets in the way.

Written by local playwright Leo Butler, the play is firmly rooted in Sheffield and draws on the writer’s experiences of growing up in the city. The play is unashamedly shaped by themes of politics, humour and resilience and the impact of world events on the lives of ordinary working families.

The cast of eight are all exceptional talents between them performing over thirty roles spanning fifty-five years, but glue that holds the family together throughout the decades of political, economic and social change, without doubt, is Liz White, who takes the role of Kathy, the family matriarch. She is a phenomenal actress, as not only is she on stage for the entire performance, but she physically ages before your eyes from a twenty-year-old new mum to an elderly, frail and grey-haired lady.

The ensemble readily manage numerous complex scenes, where several characters speak and move simultaneously. There are even some musical interludes included in the narrative which serve to help anchor the action in a particular decade.

The brilliant creative team are led by Director Abigail Graham, and although the setting of the family’s living room is constant, there are nonetheless various technical challenges as the play progresses which indicate the passage of time alongside the development and inclusion of various domestic 'gadgets', such as a video recorder – who can forget the accompanying angst of reading and understanding operating instructions? Also, perhaps inevitably, a computer along with a printer which doesn’t always print! Each scene change is seamless and completed without the aid of any blackouts, in itself necessitating perfect timing and practice to be achieved without interrupting the dialogue. Similarly, all costume changes were swiftly achieved either on or off stage, including the greying hair as the characters aged. Also of note was the attention to the smaller details which added to the authenticity, such as Sean’s dirty knees when he came home from school.

Throughout the play there are both subtle and not-so-subtle references to topical events of the day, with references to the Miner’s strike, the Common Market, the Falklands conflict, the Right to Buy (your council house), local athlete Jessica Ennis and her success at the 2012 Olympics, the Grenfell Towers disaster and, of course, the Covid pandemic. Each used to portray the popular attitudes of the day and the impact such events had on the lives of ordinary people as they went about their lives. As a young wife, Kathy remarked, ‘A housewife is an unpaid employee of a heterosexual male’, whilst her new husband, Brian (Kenny Doughty) asked for a ‘Fray Bentos’ tea, promising to bring a ‘Cherry B’ home for Kathy.

Through Kathy, we come to appreciate that every generation has difficulties, but if we care for and look after those we love, we can successfully navigate life’s challenges. ‘Living’ is a celebration of ordinary people successfully navigating the extraordinary times in which we live.

Well worth an evening of your time, I thoroughly recommend it!

Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse Until 4th April 2026