SEXUAL politics come under the spotlight in Laura Wade’s fresh, clever and totally engaging play, Home, I'm Darling, which is at The Lowry as part of a nationwide tour, writes Neil Brandwood.

The West End hit stars the increasingly ubiquitous and versatile Katherine Parkinson who is supported by an equally high-quality cast. It’s revealing, and says a lot about modern society, that the controversial radicalism at the heart of the play stems from something that could not be more conservative and traditional.

Having grown up in a commune with her right-on, feminist mother (a very convincing and likeable Susan Brown), Judy has turned her back on a high-powered career in finance to live the life of a 1950s middle-class, middle-England housewife.

Judy and husband Johnny’s (Jo Stone Fewings) embracing of the lifestyle “arrangement” generates a wealth of questions in this highly thought-provoking play. And when doubts begin to creep in about their decision, these multiply.

The seemingly straightforward conceit of the play belies a very complex exploration of modern mores, which always engages and never alienates.

Thanks to the subtlety of the acting and the writing, such contemporary issues as the #Me Too movement are organically explored as this compelling drama unfolds.

The Stepford Wives and Laura Doyle’s controversial book, The Surrendered Wife, hover in the background, and there’s also an unexpected event with a laptop that threw the audience completely, in the same way as traffic did in M. Night Shyamalan’s film, The Village.

The candy-striped 50s costumes and the 1950s dolls’ house set enhance proceedings as do the clever set changes accompanied by jaunty 1950s dancing.

This excellent production once again shows how lucky we are in having The Lowry, a theatre that ably attracts and accommodates such high-profile London productions.