Review: The Thankful Village (Touring)

Thursday 24th April 2025 at York Theatre Royal

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Badapple Theatre’s warm-hearted drama looks at the lives of women in war-time. When war hits and the men-folk of Thankful head off to do their duty, three women are left counting the days, scouring the news and navigating tensions in their own lives.

The lofty Victoria (Keeley Lane) is mistress of the house, employing the rebellious live wire Nellie (Josie Morley) and the clumsy, sweet-natured Edie (Pip Cook) as servants. While the workers enjoy a close bond, primarily made up of Nellie’s wayward nature and Edie’s scandalised reactions, Victoria finds herself in constant need of reprimanding the pair with lectures which are often so comically at odds with the present situation; while men are off fighting and dying, one’s “place” and one’s objectionable habits seem to matter only to a few.

That’s not to say that Victoria, in her desperation to cling to remnants of safe normality via tantrums over status, remains irksome throughout. Lane does well to soften her armour in Act 2, and a similar transformation for Edie takes place, with Cook scrapping the lovable klutz (think The Vicar of Dibley’s well-meaning Alice) for a woman who is finding her feet and her sense of self beyond the job. Meanwhile Morley’s Nellie is an entertaining and energising force throughout but again, comes into her own in the second act. 

Kate Bramley’s writing balances rebellion and wit with genuine warmth and some great turns of phrase that linger on thanks to the distinctly northern charm of them. Clever too is the choice to have scenes in which the actors take on roles of soldiers at the front are delivered through song only (songs and music by Jez Lowe), handling a tricky multi-rolling dynamic well. 

That said, there’s a definite sense that Act 1 is over-padded with unnecessary exposition to the point that the establishment of the relationship dynamics feels over-done in a cycle of so-called indiscretions and chastisement. But that sense of formulaic repetition is nicely broken in Act 2, when both writing and performances are given much more variety and scope to shine. 

The Thankful Village shines an affectionate light on the women left at home in wartime, taking us on an entertaining journey through shifting expectations and ultimately highlighting the importance of relationships between women at such a dark time in history.

The Thankful Village is at York Theatre Royal until 26th April 2025 – more information and tickets can be found here.

Images: Grazia Louise