A DoL House
23 June 2026
The Big House
5.0 out of 5.0 stars
The Big House is a charity seeking to support care affected young people through transformative work. Founder Maggie Norris found out through her work with ex-offenders that while only 1% of children in the UK have been in care, 40% of youth offenders and 70% of sex workers have a care background, she set up the charity to help break the cycle of disadvantage and give young care affected people a safe place to explore and develop through the power of theatre. The Big House is doing tremendous work with stunning results.
Their current production, running at The Big House until 18 July, is A DoL House. The show revolves around Leyla, a 15-year old girl subject to a Deprivation of Liberty order, which sees her locked up in a basement and under surveillance by untrained staff 24/7. The production is based on the reality of hundreds of teenagers trapped in similar situations across England. Originally meant to be an emergency measure for extreme self-harm risks, the steep rise in DoL orders in recent years speaks to a lack of mental health services and secure housing, often seeing at risk teenagers restrained and isolated in unregistered homes, and often traumatised by the experience.
A DoL House highlights this issue through a spellbinding narrative of distress, abuse, exploitation, and lack of support. Leyla is portrayed as a teenager adrift in a world that has not been kind to her, lacking crucial supports and struggling to process complex emotions. The portrayal by Anais Lone is stunningly multilayered, with powerful emotions boiling over while still making the vulnerability and confusion the focus of her personality. There are moments of humour injected into this intense exploration of the failings of the care system, though the biggest focus is on the mental health impact of locking children up against their will and with no recourse, placed under surveillance and left to rot without proper professional support for their struggles and traumas. A powerful and urgent call for change that deserves to be see far and wide!
