The Horror of the Little Family Farce – Stephen Hancok

Recently I went to the University of Memphis Theatre to see a production called “The Horror of the Little Family Farce”. The setting is in the not so distant pa, up to the present; in a living room and kitchen. The house hold included Mother and Father, son and daughter (about 25-30), and the family of the son and daughter (4 children). The story was talking about a typical country side house hold where the mother had more power (well I shouldn’t say typical). The whole play was rather comedic, focuses on Mother-Father argument, Brother-sister argument, Mother-Father-Brother-Sister argument, Mother-grandchild conflict, etc. The story gets very interesting at the end of the play where the mother past away. The son and daughter ends up shooting all of each other’s children and spouses. Then as they were shooting each other, their mothers voice comes down from another door. The son and daughter stops shooting and start blaming the situation to each other as they undressed to a rather childish cloth. So I went out in the lobby and was asked by couple people if I understood it. Well it was rather simple, the whole play was like playing with a doll house which the title makes more sense (well at least a family with 10+ member, to me, is not little.). I enjoyed the play very much, reminds me of “Glass Menagerie” that we read recently.