Paula Clifford on Be My Baby at the Oxford Playhouse

Amanda Whittington's compact drama Be My Baby is the tragi-comic tale of four young girls, at various stages of pregnancy, in a home for unmarried mothers in the 1960s. The touring production by the Soho Theatre Company, who also premiered the play four years ago, is a lively evocation of the pop-obsessed scene of the time, and at the same time a poignant reminder that the decade did not swing for everyone.

Nineteen-year-old Mary (Amy Phillips) is brought to the home by her mother (Stephanie Jacob) who is intent on hiding her daughter's condition at all costs. Mary doesn't demur, and her relationship with her Mum appears not to suffer, though the tragedy of mothers abandoning their daughters in such circumstances is well highlighted.

There are other details that make one grateful for our more enlightened times. The youngest of the girls, Dolores (Julia Haworth), is probably a rape victim, although no one dares to articulate it; Norma (Lisa Ellis) becomes seriously disturbed when she's forced to give up her child; and only one of the group, the effervescent Queenie (Kirsty Bushell), who has seen it all before, has the slightest idea about the process of childbirth.

Yet the youthful exuberance of the girls ensures that the play bubbles along quite merrily. Despite their social differences, they are united by their common misfortune and their shared love of pop, and until reality intrudes they have a fine old time together. Even the formidable matron (Joanna McCallum) hides a heart of gold and an interesting past. And there are hints of a potential bond between her and Mary's mother and of a late change of heart, which are no sooner suggested than they come to nothing.

For those who remember Dansette record-players and who sang along with Dusty Springfield, this play will have nostalgic overtones. But there remains a hint -- perhaps not a strong enough one -- of the darker side of the 1960s which in retrospect are more shocking than any of the decade's more publicised excesses.

Published in The Oxford Times on October 25