January on the mainstage of Neptune is set aside for mood-lifting comedy, and David Craig’s cozy Having Hope at Home fits the bill. It’s a charming and very funny play about familiar familial conflict, heightened to theatrical proportions. Katie Lawson is grounded and believable as Carolyn, the homesteading, heavily-pregnant daughter of a condescending obstetrician father (Michael Spencer-Davis) and an appearance-obsessed mother (Sherry Smith). She and her easy-going, English-mangling husband Michel (Aidan deSalaiz) have opted for a home birth, putting her at extreme odds with her judgmental parents. Added to the mix are a down-to-earth midwife (Mary-Colin Chisholm) and the world-weary, curmudgeonly grandfather (John Dunsworth in a hilarious scene-stealing performance). The happy ending is never in doubt, but there are plenty of laughs and some poignant observations about family along the way. —Kate Watson