Sophie Melville is in mesmerising form as a rebellious girl confronting austerity.
It starts with a bare stage. A hooded youth, a female, her stereotypical uniform completed with leopard-skin legging and trainers, is sitting on a chair, leaning forward. She addresses “You lot” in a strong Welsh accent. She tells the audience that even though she is the drunk girl on the street, the slag, the skank, the person they avoid as they walk past, they ought to be grateful to her.
I watched the Digital Theatre version which was recorded at the North Wall Arts Centre in Oxford.
In a monologue lasting an hour and quarter, Effie tells us her story. She is hugely eloquent and the power of her words in magnified by the shifting changes in mood and pace, from harangue to meditation, form rapid-fire to reflective pause. And as the play goes, her story becomes more and more compelling, more and more truthful, more and more terrible. The tough exterior is stripped away to show the vulnerable person beneath.
It is immensely powerful. And, at the end, she tells the audience why they should be thankful to her.
A wonderful script by Gary Owens. Rachel O'Riordan made a fantastic director.
Five stars ("perfect theatre") from The Guardian
Five stars ("perfect theatre") from The Guardian
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