Writer: Kit Withington
Director: Katie Greenall
We’re in The Sun Inn, a working-class pub, in the North West of England, with an ailing landlady on the top floor and a leak in the roof. Bar manager, Valentine (Aaron Anthony), gamely presides over the karaoke proceedings. A girl in cowboy tassels and faded denim does a Shania Twain thing, and other members of the audience have a go. It’s a party atmosphere, like Benidorm, with some rough old singers, but that’s not the point; karaoke is forgiving: all abilities welcome. We all have a voice.
Bright, sparky and pint-sized Franky, engagingly played by Rowan Robinson, is back home for the first time in a year. Settled in London, she lives in a flat with her boyfriend and has a job at an architectural firm. But things in the pub have changed. Her dad is behaving erratically, her mother is unexpectedly absent, and her pet rabbit, Paul Scholes—named because he’s ginger, like the football player—has disappeared. If London is so rosy, why has Franky returned? And more pressingly, when will she go back ‘home’?
In this brilliantly funny, well-paced production, seamlessly directed by Katie Greenall, we are teleported into the heart of a Manc family and community. The action cuts between the pub and Franky’s Manchester home, although arguably the pub is also home, just in a different building with a bar inside. Hazel Low’s set, both authentic and ingenious, breaks down in the last scene to transform into a reservoir, a place of gentle contemplation and rebirth.
The Heart Wall performances are excellent: warm, charismatic and funny. Deka Walmsley plays Dad or Dez – although he could also be called Bez – because he might be related to the Happy Mondays. Despite the fact that Dez clearly has some undiagnosed cognitive impairment and odd behaviour – he’s not been to the doctor in 30 years – his wit and observations sparkle. Franky’s mum, Linda, is played by Sophie Stanton as down-to-earth and matter-of-fact. She is frustrated by her circumstances but determined to live life.
Home is meant to be a place of security, reliability and permanence—a place where we go to feel safe and protected—but Franky, now an adult with her own life, must navigate a new reality and the realisation that “we all hide the bits of ourselves we’re not proud of.” Her parents’ marriage is in steep decline, her father needs care, and even her best friend from childhood, Charlene (hilariously played by Olivia Forrest), has moved on. Unanswered questions and unhealed wounds demand attention in a place that feels unstable and broken.
In one hour and 40 minutes without an interval, this absorbing, funny and moving story—which explores connection, memory and belonging—will have you hooked. Kit Withington’s cracking dialogue is a joy from start to finish. With many credits and accolades to her name from Soho Theatre and the Royal Court, this Mancunian writer has her ear attuned to the musicality, wit and humour of this specific working-class vernacular. The sequence of endless questions, inverted commas and non-sequiturs is perfectly timed with the occasional sucker punch that hits where it hurts. Heart Wall is a beautifully structured, heartfelt piece that explores how death and life awkwardly co-exist in a way that feels fresh and true.
Runs until 16 May 2026
