Oh, to be young and carefree again! And I was as I stepped out into the clear air of Edinburgh after a night watching wonderful The Girls of Slender Means.
The witty novel by Muriel Spark has been adapted expertly by Gabriel Quigley and a polished performance is currently playing at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh until Saturday 4th May 2024.
Transported back to 1945 and just as the VE Day celebrations are being forgotten, we join a group of young unmarried women who are lodging in London’s May of Teck Club, finding their feet in their careers and love lives.
Deep down the girls have some seriously sad memories of bombs and sirens to deal with as they struggle to survive on the rations.
But humour shines through and they use this merriment to soldier through the bad times, all told with a gentle sympathy and understanding of what each were going through.
Expertly directed by Roxana Silber and artistic director, David Greig, the play takes the audience from modern day, to looking back, all through the eyes of an excellent Molly Vevers, playing Jane Wright, a sassy editor of Elan fashion magazine.
Now elegant and confident, she looks back at her dowdy wartime years dressed in a shapeless writer’s cardigan trying to find herself and get over the bad times she has experienced.
Joined by housemates played by Julia Brown, Amy Kennedy, Molly McGrath and Shannon Watson, they each look back at their quirks and fears of the past, with the added spice of love interest Nicholas Farringdon (Seamus Dillane) who uses charm to swop his affections around the girls.
Set designer Jessica Worrall and head of costumes, Caitlin Wiedenhof play an important part in the colour of the play which is in contrast to the black and white backdrop of bombed streets.
It reminds the audience that behind the bright colours of clothes and the happy smiles, lay deep memories of loss and austerity, all told in such a beautiful and simple way, making the play, simply unmissable.
Tickets for The Girls of Slender Means are available via www.lyceum.org.uk or you can call the box office on +44 (0)131 248 4848.
Author Bio:
Rebecca Hay is an experienced travel writer and member of The British Guild of Travel Writers. Follow her adventures with her family on Twitter and Instagram @emojiadventurer and on Facebook via EmojiAdventurers2.
Photographs by Mihaela Bodlovic
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