Things I Know To Be True - Lace Market Theatre Review

★★★★★

There are some productions that remind you why theatre exists at all, not simply as entertainment, but as a deeply human act of shared storytelling. Lace Market Theatre’s production of Things I Know To Be True is exactly that kind of experience. The question is not whether Andrew Bovell’s quietly devastating family portrait translates to a smaller amateur stage, but whether Lace Market Theatre’s bold interpretation manages to reveal the emotional depths within the play.

Fraser Wanless as Bob and Charlie Osborne as Pip in Things I Know To Be True.

Things I Know To Be True centres on the Price family, living in suburban Australia, as four adult children return home over the course of a year, each confronting life-altering personal revelations. Through monologues, ensemble movement, and emotionally charged family confrontations, the play explores identity, sacrifice, generational expectations, and the complexities of unconditional love. At its core is the relationship between parents Bob and Fran and their children Pip, Mark, Ben, and Rosie, as the family navigates the inevitable shift from dependence to independence.

Jonathan Cleaver’s direction is, without exaggeration, extraordinary. This is an ambitious text with a heavy reliance on physical theatre, most famously associated with Frantic Assembly’s production. Rather than retreating into safe naturalism, Cleaver wholeheartedly embraces the play’s physical language, allowing movement to become an emotional vocabulary in its own right. The choreography of ensemble sequences beautifully reflects the push and pull of family love. Cleaver demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of theatrical form, blending style with emotional authenticity in a way that never feels self-indulgent. Every moment appears carefully curated, yet the performances retain a spontaneity that makes the family dynamic feel genuine.

The ensemble work is astonishingly cohesive. Rarely does an amateur production capture the honesty of family dynamics with such believability. The cast shows intimacy without being self-conscious, allowing tenderness and frustration to coexist naturally. The result is a family that feels lived-in rather than performed.

Charlie Osborne delivers an affecting performance as Pip, the eldest sibling struggling under the weight of societal and family expectations. Osborne captures Pip’s internal conflict with remarkable nuance, portraying both strength and vulnerability, especially in the scene in which Pip writes a letter to her mother. Her performance carefully balances determination with exhaustion, making Pip’s journey to reclaim her identity both heartbreaking and triumphant.

Rosie Randall as Rosie and Sarah Taylor as Fran in Things I Know To Be True

Rosie Randall is sensational as Rosie, whose opening monologue serves as the audience’s gateway into the Price family’s world. Randall’s storytelling ability is captivating; she navigates dense exposition with clarity and accessibility. Beyond her spoken lines, Randall functions as the production’s emotional compass. Her reactive performance during ensemble scenes is magnetic, subtly guiding audience responses through facial expression and physical stillness. You can’t take your eyes off her! 

Fraser Wanless brings understated brilliance to Bob. His portrayal of an ordinary man quietly weathering life’s disappointments is deeply grounded. Wanless resists the temptation to overplay emotional moments, instead allowing Bob’s quiet resilience to anchor the family’s chaos. This subtlety ensures that when Bob’s emotional vulnerability surfaces in the final moments, it lands with sincerity.

Sarah Taylor’s Fran is equally compelling. Taylor portrays a mother driven by fierce love and quiet desperation, presenting Fran as a woman whose sacrifices have slowly eroded her own sense of self. Her performance carefully avoids caricature, instead presenting Fran as complex, occasionally flawed, yet entirely recognisable. Taylor’s ability to sustain this heightened emotional tension throughout the production is remarkable, and must be exhausting for her!

Louis Harrison’s stage debut as Ben is immensely impressive. Harrison effortlessly captures Ben’s charm and immaturity, creating a character whose mistakes feel frustratingly human rather than a narrative device. His transition from carefree confidence to desperate regret is handled with impressive emotional precision, marking him as a performer to watch.

Jude Skeet Hodgson faces perhaps the production’s most emotionally intricate role as Mark, a character navigating gender identity and family acceptance. Hodgson approaches the role with sensitivity and dignity, delivering a thoughtful, deeply respectful performance. Mark’s emotional journey becomes one of the production’s most poignant threads, handled with complete care.

Fraser Wanless, Sarah Taylor and Louis Harrison in Things I Know To Be True.

David Babington’s set design proves that simplicity can be incredibly effective. Using just a modest garden shed, an overhanging tree, and two wooden planters, he creates the intimate setting of the Price family garden. The standout feature is the use of replaceable rose bushes, swapped by the cast to mark the passage of time, moving from bare winter branches to autumnal foliage, delicate spring buds, and finally blooming white roses. This elegant visual device not only tracks seasonal change but also reflects the characters' emotional development, making the design both practical and beautifully symbolic.

The technical elements further support the storytelling. Simon Carter’s sound design is beautifully atmospheric, employing rhythmic, almost meditative compositions that underscore emotional transitions and maintain narrative momentum. Although the heavy rainstorm sound effect that followed Bob’s line, “it’s starting to rain,” felt overdramatic, I would have preferred a continuation of the atmospheric music used in other transitions to suggest the mood more subtly. Perhaps a song that evoked the emotions of a rainy day? Still, this was only a minor clunk within an otherwise thoughtful soundscape.

The decision to perform the play in native British accents rather than Australian ones was something I was initially worried about, but proved successful. Bovell’s narrative is universally relatable, and the occasional textual reference to Australian ‘dollars’ or ‘highways’ registers only as a brief textual hiccup that is barely noticed, as you become so engrossed with the storytelling. 

If there is one area where the production falters, it lies outside the performance itself. The marketing poster (a rose bush depicting the four seasons) is visually striking and appropriate once you’ve seen the show, but it fails to convey the play’s emotional or narrative brilliance to prospective audiences. Given the production's quality, it would be a genuine loss if potential audiences overlooked it because of unclear promotional material.

There are occasional moments when heightened emotional confrontations risk tipping into a shouting match, a common pitfall in amateur theatre. However, what distinguishes this production is its overall restraint. Cleaver and the cast consistently recognise the importance of silence and suppressed emotion. Some of the production’s most powerful moments occur when characters don’t loudly proclaim their feelings, but say them through gritted teeth, allowing the audience to watch their discomfort.

Ultimately, Lace Market Theatre’s Things I Know To Be True is an unmissable triumph. It is emotionally intelligent and performed with remarkable sincerity. Jonathan Cleaver has crafted a production that honours Bovell’s text while showcasing the company’s immense talent. This is not simply an excellent amateur production; it is an outstanding piece of theatre by any standard. 

The best production I’ve seen from Lace Market Theatre.

The best show I’ve seen in 2026, so far. 

If you have the opportunity to see it, seize it! This is an incredible story, exceptionally told.