Mary and the Hyenas, a Hull Truck Theatre and Pilot Theatre production, follows the story of Mary Wollstonecraft, hailed Britain’s first feminist. Written by Maureen Lennon, with original music by Billy Nomates, the show follows the ups and downs of Mary’s story, showing not only how she came to write A Vindication of the Rights of Women, but all the other human aspects of Mary - love, relationships, and family.
The show has a fantastic cast, headed by Laura Elsworthy as Mary, who portrays her both as an angry, enraged woman stuck in the systems of patriarchy, whilst often showing her humanity – falling in love with a man who ultimately leaves her and her baby, dealing with the French Revolution, and ultimately falling in love again, before passing away whilst giving birth to her second daughter, Mary Shelley. The rest of the cast take on multiple roles, each having time to shine in one of the more prominent roles within their characters and providing excellent performances. Often, they went from playing hilarious or caricature characters, before moving to some more serious characters, highlighting their ability to do some fantastic character acting. Every single member of the cast worked well together, and you could feel the chemistry when watching the performance.
Unfortunately, the story often feels a bit simplistic, only spending a few minutes at each event and milestone throughout Wollstonecraft’s life. The show could benefit from having fewer of these stopping points and spending more time on some of the bigger aspects of her life, such as focusing on her school, debating with big philosophers at the time and showing more of the everyday aspects of her life. However, the show's final moment, which highlights the enduring legacy of Mary Wollstonecraft, many women throughout history, and relatives close to the actors, is so powerful and rounds the play off beautifully.
The music and lyrics are the standout of the show. The show is full of feminist anthems and includes powerful, moving songs and comedic songs. Each song is powerful in its own way and allows the cast to unite.
The costumes (Sara Perks) are beautiful. Mary’s costume feels punk, fitting in with Mary’s character well, showing her self-awareness, her sexuality, and her rage at the system she is trying to change. The costumes for the rest of the cast provide regency-era looks with a modern twist. There are plenty of corsets, but with trousers and Docs or boots, alongside the big skirts. These could be changed easily throughout the show to provide quick changes to the multiple characters the cast play.
Overall, the show shows a lot of potential and, with some additional tweaks, could be a really powerful piece of theatre.
Mary and the Hyenas plays at Hull Truck Theatre until 1st March before transferring to London’s Wilton’s Musical Hall from 18 until 29 March.
★★★☆☆ (3*)
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Tom Arran
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