Home is where Daniel Kitsons heart is. A home, he says, is where we take shelter, where we make love, where we take comfort, where we shed tears, where we let people in and let people down, where we retreat to, where we belong. Our home is our own and Kitson makes us positively ache for it; the sometimes intangible, often indefinable, unfathomable but ultimately unquestionable place where we feel content.
His relationship with 66a Church Road is the longest that hes ever had, outstaying numerous girlfriends and even loves (perhaps one in particular). And its not a home without fault. Its on a main road so is noisy and the doorbell doesnt work but its conveniently located to pubs and slightly dubious-but-appetising takeaways and even though drunks might piss on his house Mate. Youre pissing on my house. Dont piss on my house, mate. hes happy there.
He is eventually forced to leave due to protracted negotiations with his moronic though shrewd landlord, from whom he is trying to buy his home, his sanctuary, his place where he longs to be. It is, for him and for us, like a relationship break-up. The show is interspersed with poignantly funny and tender voiced-over memories which makes this break-up all the more heartbreaking for us to watch.
Kitson has here, as he always seems to do, tapped into what it means to be human, understanding the needs, the wants and the sensations felt by many more than he alone. We all want and fundamentally need somewhere to belong and Kitson captures this entirely, vividly and poetically.
A master storyteller, his flow is rhythmically hypnotic and, whilst often very funny, I quickly learnt that by laughing I missed out on the frequent profundity of what this man had to say. He really is a rare talent, an endlessly perceptive social commentator and as an aside to his theatrical prowess also the best stand-up comedian that I have ever seen.
If youve ever experienced that need to belong, the need to escape, to shut the world away, the ache for home, you must see this show. You are bound to connect with it just as Kitson cannot fail to connect with you.
