★★★★★

This terrifically funny musical is a triumph. As might be expected from a writer whose CV includes comedies as strong as Calendar Girls and Neville’s Island, Firth also delivers multiple terrific spoken gags and unexpected punchlines. Funny, touching, but also alert to the darker uncertainties of life, This Is My Family should certainly have further generations.

Guardian

★★★★★

Gorgeous. Funny, truthful, wise, and bravely original in form. Anyone with a family – past, present, remembered, or merely observed in cautious auntly incredulity – should see Tim Firth’s musical.

Libby Purves for Theatrecat

Tim Firth’s This Is My Family ranks among the most down-to-earth, close-to-home musicals ever written. There’s nothing small-scale about this masterly portrait of life – with all its changing moods and testing metamorphoses – as it is led by millions. As a family outing, it’s a must but I’d say it’s open to all: this is us.

Daily Telegraph

★★★★ 

A triumph. The show is full of love and kindness… such real emotion that you find yourself crying even while you laugh at the mayhem. Evans' direction holds it perfectly while Richard Kent's design, rotating to represent both a colourful, cluttered family home and a wild wood, provides a magnificent setting for a gentle show that lingers in the heart.

WhatsOnStage

★★★★ 

The cast is top-notch, there’s an abundance of gags and the music is stirring. Evans’ direction keeps everything running smoothly as Firth captures all the weirdness and drama, the humour and sadness, and above all, the love in family life.

The Stage

Across the three generations, the cast is superb. Sheila Hancock is the grandmother slowly losing the plot; James Nesbitt and Clare Burt are the mum and dad who’ve lost all sense of what first brought them together; and Scott Folan is excellent as the son who’s, initially at least, on another planet. Rachel Lumberg offers fine support as the well-meaning aunt. But the night, without a doubt, belongs to Kirsty MacLaren as Nicky the daughter, wise beyond her years, trying to steer the whole lot of them back on track. Hers is a beautiful performance, thoroughly engaging – and always so incredibly expressive.

Chichester Observer

The sheer calibre of the cast from national treasures like Sheila Hancock and James Nesbitt to relative fledglings such as Kirsty MacLaren as lead daughter Nicky give the first hint that this has more to offer than the storyboard suggests. No wonder the audience rose to its feet as one.

West Sussex County Times

The production is at its best when finding the beauty in the mundane workings of family life. Judging by the standing ovation at the end, this is a great way to kick off the CFT's 2019 season.

Portsmouth News