Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Danielle Rude, James Ledsham, Barbara Wallis, Gillian Hardie.
Sharman Macdonald’s When I was a Girl I Used To Scream and Shout is a production that lifts a very large lid on a relationship between mother and daughter that is far from cordial and in which both are searching for something that the other is unable or somehow unwilling to give. The need for validation and acceptance is not forthcoming and over a small break in which the pair head back to the small Scottish seaside village somehow start to show where their relationship went wrong.
No matter if the thought of a woman’s natural cycle is as alien to you as standing in a supermarket and arguing with a sack of potatoes about who was the greatest ever manager to walk out at Wembley, Sharman Macdonald’s look at women’s relationships with their bodies compliments the look at the sometimes dysfunctional bond between Fiona and Morag, portrayed by the superb Gillian Hardie and Barbara Wallis.
Kidakidder Theatre Company revived this highly original play, which debuted nearly 30 years ago at The Bush Theatre. They unveiled this breakthrough production about women and the relationships they hold dear for the Unity Theatre audience who took it straight to their hearts and even with a healthy smattering of male audience members amongst them, the laughter and understanding that emanated from the crowd was heartening and full of warmth.
Alongside the ever superb Gillian Hardie, who even though is perhaps more keenly associated with the comedy side of Liverpool theatre with her fantastic creation of Scottie Road alongside the fabulous Keddy Sutton, gave such a startling performance as the young/adult Fiona, was the incredible Barbara Wallis who gave the production that extra impetuous in the way she dealt with everything that was thrown her way by her daughter and in who gave one of the mightiest face slaps heard for a long while on any stage in the city, one so real and full of venom that the shock waves could still be felt as the actors took their well-deserved applause.
With the wonderful Danielle Rude as Fiona’s best friend and partaker in the Willie game and James Ledsham giving all in the role of Ewan, this was a complete cast performance which strove into areas that normally wouldn’t get touched upon in even high profile plays.
When I was a Girl I Used To Scream and Shout is an interesting and considerate play which opens the door slightly on how the inner workings of women and their connections with each other work.
Ian D. Hall