Ramshorn Theatre, Glasgow
3 stars
If the invisible mandarins running Strathclyde University follow
through their threat to close the Ramshorn Theatre, long-term home to
Strathclyde Theatre Group, their shame will reverberate around what's
left of the institution they will effectively have ripped the heart out
of for years to come. Where else, after all, will audiences be able to
see this defining early play by Rona Munro, whose latest works, Pandas
and Little Eagles, can currently be seen in Edinburgh and London
respectively, and whose script for the film, Oranges and Sunshine, is
one of its highlights.
First seen in 1990, Bold Girls sets its store in the female heartland
of Belfast during the Troubles. All of Marie, Cassie and her mother
Nora's men-folk have either been shot dead or are banged up in Long
Kesh. Even the prospect of a good night out for the women becomes a
potential battlefield, especially when the tellingly-named Deirdre, a
strange waif-like girl in a white mini-dress, appears at Marie's
doorstep like a little human time-bomb needing to be defused.
Director Mags McNulty opens her sensitively handled production with the
machine-gun guitars of Alternative Ulster, Stiff Little Fingers
anthemic cry for unity, as Jennifer Joyes' Deirdre rails at the world,
her dried-up mascara streaked down each eye like spider-legged escape
ropes. It's a striking image in this tale of fractured back-street
sisterhood that moves between naturalism and a post agit-prop style
that has each character step out of the action to tell their inner
story. If this in part makes the play a period piece, its heart and
soul lend the strangest of reconciliations that drive it an energy that
still speaks volumes today.
The Herald, May 5th 2011
ends
3 stars
If the invisible mandarins running Strathclyde University follow
through their threat to close the Ramshorn Theatre, long-term home to
Strathclyde Theatre Group, their shame will reverberate around what's
left of the institution they will effectively have ripped the heart out
of for years to come. Where else, after all, will audiences be able to
see this defining early play by Rona Munro, whose latest works, Pandas
and Little Eagles, can currently be seen in Edinburgh and London
respectively, and whose script for the film, Oranges and Sunshine, is
one of its highlights.
First seen in 1990, Bold Girls sets its store in the female heartland
of Belfast during the Troubles. All of Marie, Cassie and her mother
Nora's men-folk have either been shot dead or are banged up in Long
Kesh. Even the prospect of a good night out for the women becomes a
potential battlefield, especially when the tellingly-named Deirdre, a
strange waif-like girl in a white mini-dress, appears at Marie's
doorstep like a little human time-bomb needing to be defused.
Director Mags McNulty opens her sensitively handled production with the
machine-gun guitars of Alternative Ulster, Stiff Little Fingers
anthemic cry for unity, as Jennifer Joyes' Deirdre rails at the world,
her dried-up mascara streaked down each eye like spider-legged escape
ropes. It's a striking image in this tale of fractured back-street
sisterhood that moves between naturalism and a post agit-prop style
that has each character step out of the action to tell their inner
story. If this in part makes the play a period piece, its heart and
soul lend the strangest of reconciliations that drive it an energy that
still speaks volumes today.
The Herald, May 5th 2011
ends
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