Friday 17 November 2000

GIrl Talk by Patrick Edgeworth, Hit Productions, Nov, 2000


GIrl Talk by Patrick Edgeworth 
Hit Productions at Merlyn Theatre until November 17, 2000
Reviewer: Kate Herbert

Theatre comes to us in many forms for many different kind of audiences. Girl Talk is a commercial and light-hearted play that will appeal to a wide audience who are not interested in high art, obscure themes or depressing issues on stage.

Playwright, Patrick Edgeworth, writes for film and television as well having written the hit West End play, Boswell for the Defence, which starred Leo McKern. Girl Talk opened in the UK in 1995.

The style and plot of Girl Talk are related to television comedy-dramas or even to sit-coms. The story deals with serious issues such as grief, abandonment and divorce, in a superficial but entertaining way.

It is directed with finesse by David Latham who keep the pace swift and funny. The design by Judith Cobb is a large square living room with an ornate rose window as its rear wall.

The Merlyn is perhaps too big for the play but the two actors are able to draw us toward them.

Performances by Jackie Weaver and Christen O'Leary , are bright and funny. Their relationship on stage is warm and they represent two very different types of single mothers in the suburbs.

Julie (Weaver ) emigrated to Australia from the north of England 23 years ago with her new husband, Brian. Now in her 40s, she finds herself abandoned when Brian runs off with a 25 year old, leaving her with two teenagers.

Gail (O'Leary) is younger and profoundly unhappy in her singledom. She chooses inappropriate men to fill her lonely days and nights: a married handyman and  a young shelf-stacker at the supermarket, to name two.

The story is a suburban fantasy. When middle aged women who spent their lives bearing children, caring for family and pandering to husbands are left alone, they generally suffer profound grief and loss. This story sees Julie whip through her pain with a few gentle tears.

She finds a new lover who is the perfect man, confidently sends her Pam Ayres-style poems to publishers and becomes a sexual athlete overnight. Pure fantasy, but very cheering to audiences who fear the end of plodding relationships.

This play by Hit Productions, is touring the country during 2000-2001 and should be a great success with the crowds.


By Kate Herbert

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