Review: There Is No Room In Our Bathroom For Lewis Capaldi, Paisley Arts Centre

There Is No Room For Lewis Capaldi In Our Bathroom is a new play written by Frances Poet and has its world premiere in the newly refurbished Paisley Arts Centre. The piece has been designed to put young talent at the centre of the performance and has been developed with their voices in mind. 

Gwen Capaldi (Amy Gallagher) is about to turn eighteen and she's running away from home. As the eldest sibling, she is expected to help out with the little ones which is quite a task when there are eight younger Capaldi children under one roof. 

Drake (Jamie-Reece Lyle) is thirteen and brings his new friend Serena (Mya Cooper) home from school for lunch and discovers nobody has got the kids up and dressed for school yet. Gwen has disappeared and the well-oiled machine has fallen apart. Mum Donna (Dani Heron) and Dad Gordon (Santino Smith) frantically try to track her down while keeping the household under some kind of control. Gordon's apprentice painter and decorator (JJ Hay) is drafted in to help babysit and the children are delighted to have a new friend. 

All of the children's characters are well developed and the young cast are absolutely wonderful. They're complete professionals, not even flinching when a set piece accidentally breaks. The Capaldi household is a whirlwind where someone always seems to be needing something. 

Amidst the chaos and hilarity, there's real heart behind mum Donna (Heron) and Gwen's (Gallagher) relationship. Gwen remembers life before all her siblings came along and she felt she had more of her mum's attention. Both actors are terrific and bring genuine emotion to this conversation about the impact their large family has had on who they are. 

It's a fun and fresh piece of new writing with a brilliant script. There Is No Room For Lewis Capaldi In Our Bathroom is a beautifully crafted show with an exceptional young cast- not one to be missed.
 

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