"Things I Know To Be True" by Andrew Bovell.

Lace Market Theatre.

Here's another play that I've not seen before, but will never forget.

Bob and Fran Price have four adult children: Pip, Mark, Ben, and Rosie. Each child has his or her own unique struggles and secrets that they try to keep hidden from their parents, but Fran has a knack for knowing what is true in each of their lives. Over the course of a year, the children try to redefine their lives separately from the hopes and dreams of their parents, what is real and genuine in the Price family falls apart under scrutiny, and Bob and Fran must redefine their relationships with their children and with each other. 

It’s a story about growing up, letting go and learning that the people we love most are often the ones we understand the least.

I'd had a bit of an insight into what the play was about by chatting to Director Jonathan Cleaver, so I knew that it was going to be a production very different to so many plays produced by the Lace Market Theatre, but I didn't realise how emotional the story was going to be, and how personal the story was to me.

It has a very different feel to so many other plays with the closest comparison I could come to was "The Curious Incident Of the Dog In The Night Time" in the way that the choreography of the piece is played out. Developed by The Frantic Assembly, the Frantic Method is "direction through movement and promotes an acute physical awareness that can be implemented in moments of stillness just as it can be in the physically spectacular", something I certainly have not seen at the Lace Market Theatre before.

Bob is a gentle, retired father, steady and reliable, who finds solace in his garden and rose bushes. He struggles to adapt to modern life and his children's changes, representing traditional, possibly rigid, values. Played by Frazer Wanless he shows Bob to emotionally surf through life, but towards the end of the play there's an emotional explosion with one of his children. There's also a surprise revelation for him, but this in turn reveals that he was more savvy about what goes on within his family than is seen from the outside. The final scenes are heartbreaking. This is probably the most emotional role that I have seen Frazer play, but he also brings a great deal of laughter throughout the story.

Fran is a nurse who has sacrificed her happiness for her children. She harbours deep regrets, often taking her frustrations out on her eldest daughter, Pip. Fran is manipulative as well, particularly in enabling her son Ben, but is also deeply loving which goes to creating a somewhat conflicting character. Fran is played by Sarah Taylor and as with Frazer, this is the most emotional part I have seen Sarah play. What happens at the end to Fran is completely unexpected and comes like a punch to the gut.

Pip, the eldest daughter, is a successful but stressed-out education bureaucrat who feels trapped by her responsibilities as a wife and mother. Pip is played by Charlie Osborne who straight away, due to the physicality Charlie brings to her character, enables you to see that something is not quite right; like a coiled spring you can see and feel the tension. When she reveals to her parents what her future intentions are, there's an explosion of fury and disbelief from Fran, which as we discover later in the play is completely misplaced.

Mark is played by Jude Hodgson. A character who undergoes a significant transformation in the play. Mark's storyline highlights the parents' lack of understanding and emotional support. You can understand their ignorance because of their background and their own family past. They initially think one thing and brace themselves for Mark's admission, but they are way off the mark with what Mark has to reveal, and that causes a big family rift with Fran. This is Mark's first stage role for about six years and this marks Mark's debut for the Lace Market Theatre. Incredibly powerful role which is sensitively presented.

Ben is played by Louis Harrison. He is the youngest son, portrayed as reckless and restless, possibly seen as spoiled and babied by his mother. He engages in dangerous, illegal activities to fund a lifestyle he cannot afford, showcasing a desire to escape the mundane life his parents lead and to engage better with his work peers. Louis is a recently joined member of the Lace Market Theatre, which gives the theatre, and the audience, two new male actors who prove to be well versed in emotional acting. Louis makes you feel pulled between several emotions, and you find yourself siding with both his father as well as his mother's reactions as Ben.

Rosie is the youngest child, who serves as a lens for the audience to view the family's secrets and struggles. Rosie is played by Rosie Randall. Rosie, the character, is the first to provide her monologue to the audience. This in itself shows as a big thing, back story wise, but is quite insignificant when you hear everyone else's. I say that  but of course, with being the youngest child will seem a major issue. I love that Fran, on being surprised by Rosie's early return home, straight away believes something is wrong; well she is right, to an extent.

Directed by Jonathan Cleaver, he brings such an achingly beautiful piece of theatre to the stage; I can see why Jonathan is such a fan of this play and why he was desperate to direct this gorgeous piece of theatre. Jonathan and the cast create wonderful humour, and then can have you in tears. This is proven by the young woman on my row visibly and audibly sobbing at the closing scenes. He brings out the lightest of scenarios, and then throws you into the darkest pit.

Andrew Bovell, the writer, shows everybody the inner workings and thoughts of every parent, especially a parent of a certain age, as with Bob and Fran. He shows the love, the anger, the frustration and the disappointment when one of the family doesn't turn out the way that they would like their child to be. It also shows that the children have their own minds and the secrets that they keep from their parents. It shows that we, as parents, don't know everything about our children and how difficult it can be  for a child to speak to their parents, and we don't know the ins and outs of our kids' minds.

The set design is by David Babington and effectively shows the turning of the seasons by the six rose bushes, which you'll understand when, and if you can get a ticket for this production. There's also a tree in the set which is important, especially the roots of the tree which can be seen on stage, but significantly reminds us of our own family roots. Or am I being too deep?

Lighting by Hugh Philip, Allan Green, Phil Hogarth and Amy Bermudez and is extremely important and effective in this show. Strands of lights drape the stage which flicker quite a bit, and they are supposed to, maybe to indicate the flickering emotions of the whole family. It's quite difficult to explain just how effective the lighting is for this particular show, and is best seen for the effects they conjure up.

Sound by Simon Carter is also an extremely important part of the show. the reading of a letter which incorporates and highlights a special memory and feeling from Pip to Fran is spine tingling. The rest of the soundtrack heightens the emotions incredibly, reflecting how the characters are feeling.

I mentioned the movement side of the play and I adored the synchronicity in this area. Sarah in one section shows a lot of trust in the rest of the cast.

Stage managed by Kathy Bobkowska and Melanie Marriott.

The costumes are thanks to Sharon Phillips.

There are so many parts of this play that fell into line with my personal life, which in a way was slightly unnerving, but maybe I am just like many other people all over the world who has gone through similar situations as Bob has. It will give you plenty of things to talk about after the play has ended, and may give you a clearer understanding of your children, or your parents. For me though, you know that Roberta Flack song "Killing Me Softly With His Song", well this was the play version of that song for me., even if some of the situations may have been different, that's how it made me feel. That's how Jonathan and the cast made me feel.

"Things I Know To Be True" is at the Nottingham Lace Market Theatre until Saturday 14 February and is a must see for anyone who loves emotional theatre or simply great theatre.

Contains strong language and adult themes.