Once upon a time … twice upon a time … thrice upon a time … there were three sisters, who were triplets and led a charmed life.
This Girl, co-produced by Imaginate and Stellar Quines is a modern fairy tale: a wicked stepmother, a father who abandons his daughters in the forest, a quest, and resolution – well, three resolutions, of course.
The first sister walks in one direction to find meaning, the second walks the opposite way to find adventure and the third stays exactly where she is to build a life. Over twenty years of cake-baking, war-making, ocean-crossing, home-building, and friend-finding, these three determined girls become strong women, each having found their own way – and their own way back to each other.
This Girl, is a true coming-of-age story. It’s full of thought-provoking messages and lyrical lessons on life, but never too worthy to be bright, colourful and often very funny.
The cast is excellent. Kim Allan, Rehanna MacDonald, Betty Valencia (the triplets), and Ewan Somers (father/narrator) not only play their parts perfectly, they also use minor props to transform themselves into other characters at the drop of a hat (literally).
Incorporating the equally excellent BSL interpreter, as opposed to her being a black-clad figure on the fringes, only added to the production.
The eight year old with me enjoyed it from start to finish (he scored it 8 out of 10, if you’re interested; at present only anything Harry Potter gets 9 or more) and quoted his favourite lines – at length – on the way home (as, incidentally, did the older child and her mother sitting behind us on the bus), which is always evidence of a strong thumbs-up.
‘I am a woman and this was my day … my year’, the girls say more than once, which just about sums this, Finegan Kruckemeyer’s play, up. Directed by Jemima Levick, Artistic Director of Stellar Quines, this is a story about faith in oneself and in others.
Seen at the Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, on tour as part of the Imaginate Festival.