Review: Drama Girls, Union Theatre

From the difficulties of imagining you’re a blade of grass being blown in the wind at a dozen different speeds to the requirement of being highly skilled at ballet, dance and tap and pretty much every other form of dance, this new play by Tilly Woof may put off anyone considering a career in the performing arts. Yet while it suggests that the demands made of actors can be borderline traumatic, the work is both a critical analysis and a celebration of the highs and lows of attending a drama school.

Initially it does seem to be a largely negative appraisal of such training, as the cast worry about what the effect of everything they eat or drink might be, as well as the need to constantly impress their teachers and desperately attempt to show that they have improved enormously in the last seven days. While we never meet any of the staff at the school there is a good deal of audio where they give instructions that are often casually cruel, and it paints a bleak portrait of such a life. However it quickly develops in to a far more thoughtful production, and one which is careful to examine its subject matter with depth and nuance.

After the hectic beginning which introduces the three cast members (Milla James-Lewis, Claudia Sears, Tilly Woof – all excellent), and once the play slows down a little, it begins to cover why they choose to live such a life and becomes much more engaging. Part of that can be the joy from a rare compliment from an educator, but it’s largely the friendships made which the play celebrates, though once again this has no interest in a simplistic black and white view of the world. Thus the relationships made may occasionally be a little callous, especially during competitive periods where they’re all hoping to be cast in a production, but it’s made clear that when it really matters the friends are enormously supportive of each other.

The narrative is a little slight, and this is a series of vignettes rather than a more traditionally structured production, which led to the audience not quite realising when it had ended. There were also a couple of a sequences which might seem slightly derivative, such as when the characters get drunk and subsequently suffer from hangovers the next day, yet these are only minor issues and certainly something which wouldn’t take a great deal of time to alter. Otherwise these are impressively layered and intriguing individuals who are fascinating to spend time with. The sharp humour meant the hour long running time flew by, and it will undoubtedly increase your admiration for anyone who pursues a life on the stage.

Written by Tilly Woof
Directed by Catriona Lamb
Produced by Milla James-Lewis

Drama Girls has completed its run at Union Theatre. It will be playing at EdFringe in August.