Review: Blessings (Riverside Studios)

Review by Dan Ghigeanu

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Time, they say, moves on, but in Sarah Shelton’s new play Blessings, now playing at Riverside Studios, we are reminded that while years may pass, many of the underlying issues that define society – particularly around gender, family, and power – remain surprisingly unchanged. Set in 1969, Blessings explores the secrets, silences, and simmering conflicts within a traditional Catholic family.

At first glance, the Deacon family may appear comfortably entrapped in a time far removed from our own. Their living room, rendered with meticulous period detail by designer Alice Carroll, is a well-appointed picture of 1969 England, complete with paisley wallpaper, heavy furniture, and the muted palette of the time. The costumes, too, anchor us in the late 60s with buttoned cardigans, stiff collars, and conservative skirts that signal both social respectability and quiet constraint.

Sarah Shelton, who also directs with control and a keen eye for emotional nuance, isn't content with nostalgia. Blessings may be showered in vintage fabric, but its core concerns are shockingly contemporary. As the Deacon family gathers, first for an Easter family dinner, things quickly turn into arguments, and it becomes clear that the issues bubbling beneath their domestic surface are just as urgent today. Why should men decide what a woman should be? Who benefits from silence? And how much are we willing to sacrifice to protect the image of a "good" family?

At the centre of the story is Sally Deacon, played with grace and emotional intelligence by Emily Lane. As one of the few characters to show a different side of society, Sally emerges as a quiet rebel by simply listening, withholding judgment, and daring to feel empathy in a house full of sharp tongues and even sharper opinions. Her performance is layered and generous, offering a modern sensibility that doesn't feel archaic but earned. Anna Acton plays matriarch Dorie Deacon, a woman burdened not only by her faith but by the crushing responsibility of maintaining appearances. Her portrayal is a masterclass in restraint as she conveys the weariness of someone who has spent her life defending choices she never got to make. There's a palpable sense that Dorie has absorbed society’s standards so thoroughly that she can’t see beyond them, even as they suffocate her.

Hannah Traylen shines as Frances, the fiery daughter whose courage often turns into confrontation. She brings an intellectual sharpness to the role, making Frances feel ahead of her time. Milly Roberts delivers a compelling double turn as the judgmental Penny and the compassionate Vita. The contrast between the two roles is a testament to both the writing and Milly Roberts’ dexterity as a performer. Freddie Webster also impresses in dual roles, Martin, the arrogant eldest son, and Peter, Sally’s boyfriend. His performance underscores the limiting scripts that men, too, were handed in 1969, a reality still echoed in the expectations placed on alpha masculinity today. Gary Webster completes the family portrait as Frank Deacon, the father whose rigidity hides emotional wounds. As both Frank and the local priest Father O’Brien, he embodies the institutional authority of the Church and the patriarchy it has long upheld.

Structurally, the play has an episodic rhythm, giving the texture of a sitcom or soap opera, complete with carefully timed entrances, ensemble tension, and moments of domestic comedy. As the story unfolds and secrets emerge, Blessings grows darker and more confrontational, culminating in a twist that I will not spoil but it will make you question some early scenes and their meaning from the play.

The play’s power lies not just in its writing or its performances, but in its relevance. We like to think of 1969 as a different world, one where social roles were rigid, authority unquestioned, and progress just a slogan on a protest sign, but Blessings reminds us that many of those roles persist, just in new packaging. In 2025, women are still fighting to define themselves on their own terms, families still cover up uncomfortable truths for the sake of "honour” and the tension between tradition and transformation continues to split generations.

The visual language of the production, the era-specific costumes and furniture feel less like a museum piece and more like a commentary on the cycles we repeat. Alice Carroll’s design doesn’t just evoke 1969, it warns us that we are not as far from it as we might think. This is perhaps the most startling success of Blessings, its ability to make 1969 feel extremely familiar.

In the end, Sarah Shelton has crafted more than a family drama. Blessings is a meditation on time itself, not because of what has changed, but because of what hasn’t. With a rich ensemble, sharp direction, and themes that refuse to be boxed in by time, Blessings is both a period piece and a present-day provocation. This play offers no easy answers, only a blessing and a curse: the truth.

Blessings plays at Riverside Studios until October 26th

For tickets and information visit https://riversidestudios.co.uk/see-and-do/blessings-177622/

Photos by Lidia Crisafulli