Culture news and discussion on TalkFuse.
Fun Home review – Alison Bechdel’s musical memoir feels every emotion
The Guardian reviews Fun Home, the musical adaptation of Alison Bechdel's illustrated memoir, now revived by director Sarah Frankcom at the Royal Exchange in Manchester. Staged in-the-round, the production celebrates the cartoonist's sexual awakening and queer identity while probing darker family dynamics, chiefly her relationship with her closeted father, who ran the family funeral business and later killed himself. The reviewer praises it as a soulful, tremendously performed show that balances emotional weight with brightness and joy.
First seen in the UK in 2018, the musical has a book and lyrics by Lisa Kron and music by Jeanine Tesori, adapted from the graphic novel published in 2006. It uses three actors to portray Bechdel at different ages — Jodie McNee as the 43-year-old author, Alice Audrey O'Hanlon as her student self and Felicity Moore as her childhood self — alongside Nigel Harman as her conflicted father Bruce and Alex Young as her mother. The reviewer likens its exposed-nerve family trauma to Long Day's Journey into Night, while highlighting upbeat numbers such as a Jackson 5-style funk song, the pop song Raincoat of Love and O'Hanlon's Changing My Major.
In short
- Fun Home revived at Manchester's Royal Exchange, staged in-the-round.
- Soulful, tremendously performed musical blending family trauma with joy.
- Three actors play Bechdel across childhood, student years and adulthood.
Explained simply
Fun Home is a musical adaptation of Alison Bechdel's illustrated memoir. The story follows Bechdel as she comes of age as a lesbian, whilst exploring her relationship with her father, who ran the family funeral home and later died by suicide.
Bechdel published her original memoir in 2006 to considerable acclaim. The work weaves together her personal narrative of sexual awakening and identity with an examination of her father's hidden queer life, creating a portrait of family secrets across generations.
The musical adaptation has been staged in British theatres since 2018, featuring music by Jeanine Tesori and a book and lyrics by Lisa Kron. It uses theatrical performance and song to transform Bechdel's comic storytelling for stage audiences.
Art Culture Geopolitics Politics