Sharman MacDonald made a big splash with her first play, When I Was A Girl I Used To Scream & Shout, at the Bush in 1984, and soon after in the West End, winning the Evening Standard Most Promising Playwright award. Despite writing nine more plays, including ones produced at the National, Royal Court and Almeida, she never lived up to that promise, but I was very much looking forward to seeing this revival, even though I couldn’t remember a thing about it!
It’s set in Glasgow in the last years of the Second World War and revolves around Alec and Maggie and their daughter Isla. Wartime life in the city is bleak, but Maggie occasionally manages to get around the rationing. Alec doesn’t treat Maggie well, but she’s devoted to him. Isla meets a sailor, gets pregnant and marries. A fourth character, mysterious Cath, occasionally appears.
The first half isn’t chronological and hops all over the place in a virtually impenetrable structure that it deeply frustrating. There is no cohesive narrative and by the interval I was seriously contemplating giving up. The shorter second half is much clearer and much better, pulling the narrative strands together, but I’m afraid it doesn’t recover.
This is a great shame, because Eleanor Rhode’s simple staging has great atmosphere and authenticity and all of the performances are excellent, with an auspicious stage debut from Abigail Lawrence as Isla. I’m not sure why MacDonald chose such an inaccessible structure for her play, but I’m afraid it works against an interesting and original story.
A disappointment.
Gareth's Culture and Travel Blog 
Leave a Reply