Written by: Cathryn Macey
July 2025
With more politics than your average episode of The West Wing, hen dos can be an emotional minefield for all involved. Let’s face it… a BIG girls’ night out often ends in carnage; someone usually goes awol, at least one person partakes in an inappropriate dalliance with a stranger and I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t even be classed as a proper night out if someone didn’t end up sobbing in the bogs and drunk dialling an ex.
We’ve all been there. Add in some penis straws, free shots and a mountain load of anticipation following six months of raucous banter on the group’s Whatsapp (#Hen’s go wild!) and you surely have a recipe for disaster. And if you’re struggling with issues related to mental health, addiction and homelessness, an event like a hen do, which is often fuelled by booze, can trigger one all mighty melt down!
Domestication is all about a hen do that goes wrong. Written by and starring members of TRP’s outreach group, Our Space, Domestication explores the way such high-stake events and milestones can bring out the best and the worst in all of us.
The show starts with a glimpse of your stereotypical group chat prior to a planned night out. On a huge phone, we see messages from the self-proclaimed “planner” of the group as she tries to sort logistics. Appointed party animal aka, “Chaos on Legs”, amps up excitement levels by sending an array of humorous memes. Responding with a variety of emojis, including the obligatory thumbs up, the rest of the hens egg each other on and swap outfit ideas. And then the big night arrives…..
Lugging speakers on to the stage, the group look exhausted before they’ve even started on the Jägerbombs. I’d assumed the speakers were meant to represent stones and that the group were assembling the subwoofers to recreate a homage to Stonehenge; it looked like a nod to the primitive and tribal nature of such group occasions.
However, I was politely corrected by a member of Our Space at their post show party. It transpires that the speakers symbolise the emotional baggage people can bring to big events. On reflection, this makes perfect sense!
Initially, the hen do goes rather well. In an assortment of zebra and leopard print outfits, the clan gather under the watchful, albeit slightly judgemental, gaze of the DJ. They spin the records and comment on the ladies’ outfit choices; they even give us a blow by blow account of each woman’s role tonight.
As well as “Chaos on Legs” and “The Planner”, Team Bride also consists of “Miss Diamond Lil ‘s 1980” and “The Supplier”. Yes “The Supplier” has everything you might need to get the night off to a good start but all she really wants to do is sit in the park and eat grass; yes, actual grass!
How do I know this? Well as the evening unfolds and the party becomes more fractured, the karaoke mic comes out. But instead of amusing us with glorious renditions of Gloria Gaynor’s “I will Survive”, these Plymouth birds become rather intoxicated and instead deliver a range of moving monologues about the real trauma they’re currently going through and the forgotten dreams they’ve left behind. (Yes, eating grass was a dream for “The Supplier!”) The girls are dressed up and covered in make up but below their glossy exterior lie some uncomfortable truths.
Turns out that “The Planner” plans everything meticulously to avoid losing a grip on reality. One step out of line may cause her to unravel completely: “I’m simmering! I will lose it.” Another endearing character, Di, or “The Moaner” delivers a moving piece of performance poetry about letting yourself experience pain so you can “finally do something about it.”
Particularly relatable was “Chaos on Legs”’s monologue about feeling lost and low. Talking to us from behind a club’s toilet cubicle door, “Chaos on legs” speaks candidly about not knowing who she is or what she wants from life. The despair in her voice is palpable.
Domestication’s conclusion saw the group of women reunited in their need for independence from domesticity. No one wanted to go home to “hoover the same carpet” or “wash the same clothes.” As someone who struggles with the mundane, repetitive aspects of life (don’t we all?!), this part of the performance was extremely easy to relate to.
At the post show talk, the shows’ directors and cast members talk to us about the production process. The cast members include ex members of the services as well as people who all have experience of addiction, homelessness or mental health challenges. A lot of the monologues in the show are based on issues the cast have encountered in their own lives.
Personally speaking, it is incredibly powerful to watch these autobiographical mono and duologues performed by people with real experiences of the struggles they tell us about. We’re often watching actors deliver the lines written for them, but watching the members of Our Space talk openly about their own experiences and in their own words (even if some of them were embellished for dramatic effect) is moving.
The front row of the audience are made of other Our Space members. If you join Our Space, you don’t have to sign up to do a performance like this. You can, if you prefer, just join in with the drama based activities on offer in one of the non performance based groups the scheme runs. The support the other Our Space members gives the cast is overwhelmingly warm and adds to the positive atmosphere of the evening.
Meeting some of the cast for soft drinks in The Lab after is also an uplifting experience. The hens in the play may have been somewhat frazzled but, in real life, they’re much happier. Seeing them all together, it’s clear that the Our Space scheme fosters a wonderful community of like minded people that all support each other to produce meaningful and impactful theatre.
But, of course, it’s not just about theatre. As one of the actors, a carer suffering from depression told me, “If it wasn’t for Our Space, I don’t know what I’d do. It has given me back to me.” With friends like these, who needs cheap shots to have a good time anyway?
For more information about Our Space, visit the webpage.