This spring at the Everyman will see two award-winning solo performances telling powerful stories. The Corn Exchange, Ireland presents a stage adaptation of Eimear McBride’s award winning novel A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing from 5th to 9th April. This is followed by Iphigenia In Splott, winner of the U.K. Theatre Award for Best New Play 2015, from 14th to 16th April. Performers Aoife Duffin and Sophie Melville both won the Stage Award for Acting Excellence at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2015.
Both plays are based on existing stories, one a Greek myth and the other a modern novel but they are united by their daring and audacious adaptations and by awe-inspiring central performances. A Girl is a Half-formed Thing and Iphigenia In Splott are stories about failings in our society, a disenchanted and disillusioned generation and a truth they possess for every city across the U.K.
Rebellious, unrelenting with biting wit, A Girl is a Half-formed Thing follows the inner narrative of a girl from the womb to twenty with vivid intensity and originality. This is a character of astonishing resilience and intelligence, someone determined to make sense of things amidst the deprivation of her Irish childhood. Eimear McBride’s award-winning novel has been adapted and directed by Annie Ryan to startling effect.
Inspired by the enduring Greek myth, Gary Owen’s Iphigenia In Splott is a powerful drama that drives home the high price people pay for society’s shortcomings. This one-woman play, directed by Rachel O’Riordan, looks at the world through the eyes of Effie, a hard-nosed, unemployed young woman who spends her days in a careless spiral of drink, drugs and drama.
A Girl is a Half-formed Thing is performed by award-winning actress Aoife Duffin (Moone Boy, Sky 1; Spring Awakening, Headlong) in a career-defining role described as a “powerhouse performance” (The Observer). Sophie Melville (Under Milk Wood, Theatre Clwyd; Romeo and Juliet, Sherman Cymru) plays Effie in Iphigenia In Splott and has been praised for her portrayal of the harsh reality of modern day life in a “breathtaking, bruisingly good performance” (The Stage).
Tickets for both performances can be purchased from the Box office, by telephone on 0151 7094776 or online at www.everymanplayhouse.com.