A House Without a Mum (Demo)

About

A House Without a Mum is the second of two demo recordings sung by Robbie Williams for the original cast album of The Boy in the Dress, the 2019 musical written with Guy Chambers for the Royal Shakespeare Company. The track appears midway through the show, performed on stage by the characters Dennis and his father, and captures the mixture of humour and sadness that defines the story’s treatment of family life.

The song opens as a brisk, guitar-driven number in which Dennis and his dad celebrate the apparent freedom of domestic chaos: “Brush your teeth, comb your hair, there’s dirty dishes everywhere, who left those undies on the chair?” Beneath its comic energy lies a tender recognition of loss, as the lyric shifts towards longing for the absent mother. Williams’s demo reflects both moods, moving effortlessly between cheerful playfulness and quiet melancholy.

Musically, the number blends light pop rhythms with theatrical phrasing, echoing the wit and melodic sensibility of British family musicals such as Matilda. The change of tempo mid-song, from bouncy optimism to slow piano lament, underlines the emotional contrast between denial and grief. Critics of the Stratford production highlighted this sequence as one of the musical’s most affecting moments.

“It’s hard to write humour and heartache in the same song, but Robbie and Guy achieved it beautifully here.”Gregory Doran, Royal Shakespeare Company

Williams’s guide vocal, released with the soundtrack, offers an especially poignant reading, emphasising his empathy for the material and his instinct for character-driven storytelling. Like much of The Boy in the Dress, the song celebrates imperfection and resilience within family life, qualities central to Williams’s own songwriting identity.