Nottingham Playhouse is upholding its reputation for housing meaningful theatre with its current production of Girls and Boys. Written by Dennis Kelly and directed by Anna Ledwich, the one-woman play tells the gripping, fictional story of an unnamed individual, representing wider groups and multiple societal issues, including violence, grief and difficult family dynamics. It blends clever, sarcastic humour with hard-hitting, raw moments to create an honest and impactful portrayal of humanity and gender differences.
Girls and Boys opens on a Woman (Aisling Loftus) stood on an empty stage, sharing comedic anecdotes of her younger years and how she met her husband in an airport queue (and initially disliked him). The plot evolves as the pair’s lives do, bringing romance and children – and heartbreak. The story is told through two types of scene – ones where the Woman breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly with the audience to share her life experience, and others in which she is talking to her children. It is interesting to watch her persona change between the two, as her honest words when ‘alone’ contrast with her calm, motherly charm.
The different scenes are made clear through the use of set (Janet Bird). When the Woman is speaking alone, there is often nothing but her on stage, meaning all attention is directed to her words. In the scenes with her children, she enters an aesthetic, domestic set, featuring a kitchen, dining and sitting area. This isolates her from the audience more – they are now looking into her life as if through a window. Having only one cast member and minimal set could prove a challenge in holding people’s attention for nearly two hours with no interval, but Loftus’ captivating acting along with Matt Haskins’ lighting design ensure the show never runs out of steam.
Loftus keeps the audience hooked onto her every word and gives an intensely powerful performance. From her first sentence, an immediate rapport is built and this is maintained through her impeccable comedic timing and character’s willingness to let the audience in on her secrets. She makes frequent eye contact and spends a lot of time at the front of the stage, which deepens this connection. Despite the conversation being one-sided, it truly feels like you are listening to a friend. This means that when she begins to deliver serious messages towards the end, the audience can’t help but listen. Loftus skilfully switches mood with ease throughout the piece and impressively gives every line character and thought – as if they were coming to her off the top of her head and not a long script she has had to memorise. Arthur Carrington has shown he really knows how to cast, as Loftus truly does the role justice and gives it everything she has.
The lighting also helps to progress the story along and make each section feel different – with short, strobe flickers breaking up scenes as well as the warmth of the lighting reflecting the current mood effectively. The scenes with the Woman’s children are particularly clever as their physical absence is never felt and does not hinder the storytelling. This is largely due to the Woman’s movements around the space (with movement direction by Chi-San Howard) making it feel like she is chasing after real children and giving them affection. The plot is easy to follow despite their lack of response to her words, and it doesn’t feel like she is spelling the conversation out for the audience. Instead, you see a natural flow in the dialogue and developed characters who you become attached to despite their invisibility. These moments are everyday and relatable, making them more engaging and often humorous to watch.
As the title suggests, the play explores gender dynamics and the female experience, largely focused a relationship between two people. Doing this as a one-woman show with a lack of male perspective (her husband is not even given a name in her stories, but then neither is she), could be a controversial decision, but the show is conscious of this choice and utilises it well. By the end of the piece, it is clear that a male voice would take away from the story the Woman is telling and her messages are strong enough to stand on their own.
The end of the show saw a standing ovation for Loftus and audience members wiping away their tears, which is a credit to the powerful storytelling and breathtaking acting. The breakdown from light-hearted, almost idealistic anecdotes to harsher, more realistic tales is gripping (though it is important to note the trigger warnings displayed on the website before viewing the piece, as it – rightfully – does not shy away from difficult topics and strong language). This captivating, moving play will make you question assumptions about society, mortality and family, taking an unexpected direction that will stay with you afterwards.
Girls and Boys runs at Nottingham Playhouse until 1st March.
★★★★★ (5*)
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Johan Persson
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