It Never Rains – Jack Studio Theatre, Brockley (SE Fest)

Writer: Wendy Fisher
Director: Ralph Bogard

Reviewer: Christine Stanton

“Generational Family Drama“

3 / 5

The tension between the three women in Sarah’s family has been building for years, spiteful comments never far from the tip of their tongues. They’ve managed to keep most of the anger buried over the years, (along with a variety of secrets) but it’s reaching boiling point both in and outside the family home, and everyone is ready to explode.

Climate change has reached danger levels, everyone told Sarah (Jill Stanford) and her husband not to travel – but they ignored the warnings, stubbornly jetting off on a holiday in the Sun just like they used to. Returning home with her husband’s ashes after heat exhaustion took him from her, wasn’t what she expected to bring home as a souvenir, but her ‘keep calm, carry on’ attitude ensures she remains strong, despite the shock. She was expecting to be able to come home and grieve on her own terms – in a tidy, quiet house after years of chaos. But daughter Anne (Cathy Conneff) is having marital problems, and granddaughter Mags (Rosa French) is desperate for a change, so Sarah’s moment of solace quickly becomes overwhelmed by catty remarks and unresolved trauma.

Wendy Fisher’s script delves right into the heart of the family drama, and even without much introduction, their intense dynamic makes it clear from the beginning they’re not exactly a close-knit unit. The bombshell about Anne’s father is dropped quickly and flippantly, quickly showcasing the emotionless, stoic personas each of the women hold. As they spend more time together, you can see the struggle in them trying to rebuild years of hurt and distance, some of which explained with shocking retorts or snippets of conversations, but the full depth of their estrangement is never fully touched on, leaving the audience as disconnected to the family as they are themselves.

The climate change theme is only briefly touched on, mainly as a vessel for the husband’s death, but with no real impact anywhere else in the storyline. The main focus is the generational pain, and the struggle to repair a fragmented family unit past the point of no return. Slightly overacted at points, there are moments where the depth of the revelations don’t land as well as they could, a focus on more subtle, less dramatised interactions could really elevate the narrative to its strength.

Farah Ishaq’s video design is well integrated into the production, used as both a location/time signifier but also to artfully deliver the final impactful scenes, as the storm clouds finally erupt – rain pouring down outside, as the storm inside reaches its peak at the very same moment.

Runs until 4th September 2025