In a series of linked sketches and acapella song given fine sensitive direction by George Williamson, the play Home traces some of the difficulties facing the homeless.
Much of the show centres on the imagined character of Danny (Scott Elder) in his 30s and on the eve of getting a flat on a run-down estate.
As a child, he was taken into care when he was injured after being pushed down stairs. He has spent much of his life homeless and for him getting a flat will be like walking a tightrope of responsibilities he is uncertain he can handle.
It is a fear others share. When two homeless men sit on a park bench talking about their situation, one tells the other that he doesn’t feel as safe in a home as he does out in the open.
The State is shown as less than supportive of those in need. In a very funny scene, a puppet conducts benefits interviews in which he liberally hands out sanctions.
To a former soldier who claims he missed a work support activity because of the pain of a war wound, the puppet sanctions him insisting that if he could fight in Afghanistan then he should be able to work.
This is a moving, entertaining performance by a cast who have almost all experienced homelessness. It has a lightness of touch in dealing with the social issues often imaginatively making its point through humour.