one4review | On 19, Aug 2023

On a beautiful but simple set, Ruby Campbell portrays four generations of women, each seeking escape from Tiger Bay, a Unionist enclave in Belfast. In 1940s Belfast, Ethel seeks to escape via the Wrens, but the lack of a paternal signature prevents her realising her dream. Janette, her daughter, has a job she loves at a hotel and a daughter, Sarah, she works hard to provide for. When a Catholic woman is murdered, her employers sack Janette, as they are worried about her travelling from Tiger Bay to their hotel. Sarah has a boyfriend Andy who is embroiled in the world of drugs and sectarianism. When matters come to a head, Sarah heads to Florida and escapes, but only for so long. The final section is the story of Pamela, Sarah’s daughter. Brought up in Belfast after the Good Friday agreement, she has been abandoned by her mother and rails against male misogyny.

Alice Malseed’s script has a great sense of time and place, bringing out the different political and personal levels of strife as we move through the generations. Ruby Campbell is pitch perfect as each character, also portraying the various boyfriends along the way. It’s a delight to hear the female perspective of living in Belfast during the troubles and, if anything, I wished the play could have been longer, so invested was I in each character’s storyline. A beautiful and fascinating piece of theatre.

4.5****
Reviewed by Rona
Pleasance Dome – The Jack Dome

Until the 28th August (Not 21st)

2.35pm