Review: Laughs, nostalgia and pain in The Last of the Pelican Daughters on Northampton stage

Our siblings may be our blood, but would we choose to be friends with them if we were not related?

Dysfunctional family bonds are the heart-wrenching epicentre of the latest production by The Wardrobe Ensemble.

The age-old saying 'you can't choose your family' is played out with raw passion in The Last of the Pelican Daughters, which sees the eponymous siblings gather to celebrate the birthday of their recently departed mother.

Envy and bitterness bubble to the surface as the clashing sisters fail to acknowledge one another's pain and come to terms with what it means to be a grown-up.

Themes of grief, infertility, finance, value and caring bounce around almost as rapidly as the quick-witted dialogue, leaving no central idea for the audience to grasp onto. However, this is not necessarily a pitfall, as it serves the energy of the production, and erratic nature of the characters, well.

The repeated motif of a red dress, representing their idealised mother, is used to cathartic effect particularly in the emotional climax which sees the family tearing one another apart figuratively and literally.

Despite the escalating crises and seemingly morbid setting, this is a play of surprising wit, with constant laugh-out-loud moments. There is comic relief in spades from hippy boyfriend Dodo, whose fate is sealed from the moment his American drawl floats out of his mouth.

And as with their previous production Education, Education, Education the show is a moving nostalgia trip for anyone born around the 1980s.

From the ornate coat stand to the giant black stereo blasting out The Beatles vinyl, the furniture and pop culture references couldn't help but remind me of my childhood.

Like the Pelicans' deceased matriarch, my own mother protested on Greenham Common, and likewise I was also herded into the family Volvo with my siblings.

Although I could never imagine myself screaming the 'c' word at my own brother and sister, the grief-infused rage felt by the Pelicans did make me wonder just how well we would cope in similar circumstances.

For a roaring - if sometimes bumpy - rollercoaster ride, you really can't go wrong with this comedic family melodrama.

* The Last of the Pelican Daughters runs until Saturday, March 7. Visit royalandderngate.co.uk to book.