Traverse Theatre,
Edinburgh
Five stars
“Wasps only sting
people they love,” observes Andrea, the troubled teen at the centre
of Philip Ridley's devastating monologue near the beginning of a
production by the Supporting Wall company first seen at the 2013
Edinburgh Festival Fringe. If that is the case, the litany of ills
inflicted on her that are gradually laid bare over the next
seventy-five minutes would surely fulfil every yearning for love that
Andrea has ever felt. As it is, as she's left alone by feckless
parents, taken advantage of by men who make her feel grown up and
pushed to emotional extremes just to survive, it becomes ever clearer
exactly how damaged Andrea is.
Gemma Whelan's fearless
performance as Andrea initially sucker-punches the audience with what
at first appears to be standard teenage tittle-tattle a la Little
Britain's Vicky Pollard. Only when she flips into confrontation mode
for the first time does it slowly dawn on us that something isn't
quite right with this formerly chirpy, wide-eyed girl. As she spasms
on the floor mid-way through unleashing her increasingly grim
confessional, you wonder how far she can go. The answer is
heart-breaking.
There's something of
Greek tragedy in Ridley's relentless text, even as it captures the
frighteningly up to date phenomenon of sexual grooming by men who
take advantage of vulnerable girls like Andrea. David Mercatali's
production is played out on a suitably empty stage that allows
neither
Whelan nor the audience
a place to hide from some of the disturbing material that is thrown
up. It goes without saying that Whelan is astonishingly good in an
epic tale of corrupted innocence that takes no prisoners.
The Herald, March 3rd 2014
ends
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