If you grew up in the UK, then chances are you have a camping horror story. It might be from the family holiday your parents dragged you on, the DofE expedition you reluctantly agreed on to enhance your CV, or the festival where you realised that a group of teenagers really shouldn’t be counted on to organise food and shelter for themselves. Hopefully though, your memories won’t include anything as bad as the camping trip depicted in 1 Tent, 4 Girls, the latest production from Bristol-based female-led theatre company Talkers & Doers.
Based on a real-life trip experienced by writer-director Rosalie Roger-Lacan, the hour-long play currently running in the New Wimbledon Theatre Studio sees Sam's (Ciara Hughes) brilliant idea to spend a week in the countryside with friends Rosa (Alice Bebber) and Ruby (Bethan Owen) go disastrously wrong thanks to, among other things: the great British weather, subpar equipment, and the last-minute addition of Ruby’s new ‘gal pal’ Lily (Evie Cooper).
Strong performances abound, with the standout being Alice Bebber as sensitive, away-with-the-fairies Rosa, but the story takes a while to find its stride. The girls circle around their issues while struggling to bring them to a head, leading to plenty of comedy but not a lot of resolution. The performers shine best when they riff off each other, replicating that mostly good-humoured bickering which abounds in most old friendships, before this takes a turn away from good humour as the situation worsens. Monologues inserted throughout the piece are more hit and miss, and sometimes distract from the pacing of the story.
Without much in the way of set dressing or prompts, the company often use movement to create the setting, and this is done to great effect, with skilful direction from Rosalie Roger-Lacan and Amber Charlie-Conroy. Laughs abound in 1 Tent, 4 Girls, which is an entertaining watch and a story brimming with human connection even if lacking at times in plot development. 1 Tent, 4 Girls runs at New Wimbledon Theatre Studio until 13th April. For more information and tickets, follow the link here.
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AD | gifted tickets in return for an honest review | images provided by theatre
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