This comedy drama promises to show what really takes place in female facilities, but despite initial promise it doesn't go anywhere particularly new.Rating
Good
Previously staged at the Hope Theatre at the beginning of the year, Drunk Girls Cry Here returns to the venue with an extra 25 minutes of material. However, it feels sluggish; there’s some great acting taking place on the small stage and some sharp dialogue that raises it above the level of a TV soap opera, yet the final act feels predictable. This is a good play, but it’s not currently a great one, and it’s missing a certain spark.
We’re at an unnamed raucous karaoke pub to celebrate the 28th birthday of Saph (Emily Puttick), but apart from brief scenes of Saph and her friends dancing and singing karaoke, and fleeting trips to the men’s loos, the play is set almost entirely in the female toilets. It’s a fun idea, especially given the long-running myths about what truly takes place in these locations, and for the first half hour it’s pleasingly entertaining.
In that first third of the play it sets up the incredibly strong bond that Saph has with best friends Liv (Áine O’Neill Mason) and Flick (Eva Regan). The way they gossip and tease and lurch around in a drunken manner, taking the odd bump of cocaine to survive the enormous quantities of alcohol being consumed, is amusing material. All three are great at ‘drunk acting’, a tricky challenge at the best of times, and the love they share for each other, despite occasional minor irritations, leads to an engaging take on the importance of intimate and considerate friendships.
Around about the halfway point the major plot strands have been revealed, and there’s not a lot here that isn’t quite foreseeable. We begin to see a lot more of the men in Saph’s life, and while fine, their performances don’t feel as believable as the female leads. It’s less realistic than the first half too, and almost dips in to clichéd territory with a broad bit of comedy where Saph’s boyfriend Archie (Jacob Hutchings) struggles to keep a major secret.
The manner in which the plot pivots to reveal hidden secrets and show us uncomfortable events is handled adeptly, and this is often funny and sweet-natured, sensitive to the difficulties women face in all kinds of relationships. But it just doesn’t feel like it has anything particularly original to say.
O’Neill Mason, Regan and Puttick are all fantastic, and after only a few minutes are completely convincing as the closest of friends. Their natural chemistry leads to some laugh out loud physical comedy, and the stark set, which consists of a toilet and a sink, is used in a number of inspired ways, so by the end of the production the play has definitely lived up to its title without the more dramatic elements feeling forced.
Despite being appealing the play is currently not doing quite enough to be truly memorable work. However, playwright Regan shows a real talent for directing, as it flits from one location to the next and from one emotional explosion to another with notable agility. There’s a lot of energy in the production and laughs are never far away, even during the more serious sequences.
Written and directed by Eva Regan.
Drunk Girls Cry Here runs at The Hope Theatre until Saturday 16 May.
