It’s 1997 and the Spice Girls rule the charts. But how much has ‘girl power’ really achieved? That’s the question in The Positive Hour. Miranda (played by Helena Bumpus) is a smug but deeply neurotic social worker whose idea of sympathy somehow makes everyone feel worse. Bumpus is so wonderfully smug that she becomes rather creepy, reminding unemployed Paula (Claudia Marciano) that without work and until she chucks her aggressive boyfriend, she won’t get
her daughter Victoria (Amy Hendry) back. Meanwhile Miranda’s best friend Emma (Abbye Eve, hilariously game) is a painter who only discovers her bohemian side once she’s participated in a bit of S and M.
Director Rebecca Alloway has uncovered a gem here, giving the girls of t:24 Society a chance to show off their skills in five very different but all rewarding roles. There’s a clear Spice Girls influence in some of the outfits, particularly Emma who rocks a Scary Spice look. The influence is reflected in the soundtrack that plays before the show starts and in the
interval: a mash-up of famous girl power songs and news reports relating to women.
The guys are not forgotten- we have a stuffy academic (very endearingly played by Elliot Huxtable) and a friendly young man (Tom Tokley) whose face is obscured by a gimp mask. Tokley is a far more loveable submissive than Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades of Grey and almost steals the show in his latex get-up. Costume and props no doubt had a whale of a time with this storyline.
The title relates to the group that Miranda sets up: an all-female therapy group, devoutly attended by nervy student Nicola (Alice Hudson), reluctantly attended by Paula and accidentally attended by Emma. Hudson really shines in
these scenes, roleplaying her domineering father to heart-breaking effect.
The play has lots to say about women but also about being human, so men and women, all get yourself a ticket tonight for this wonderfully entertaining show.
her daughter Victoria (Amy Hendry) back. Meanwhile Miranda’s best friend Emma (Abbye Eve, hilariously game) is a painter who only discovers her bohemian side once she’s participated in a bit of S and M.
Director Rebecca Alloway has uncovered a gem here, giving the girls of t:24 Society a chance to show off their skills in five very different but all rewarding roles. There’s a clear Spice Girls influence in some of the outfits, particularly Emma who rocks a Scary Spice look. The influence is reflected in the soundtrack that plays before the show starts and in the
interval: a mash-up of famous girl power songs and news reports relating to women.
The guys are not forgotten- we have a stuffy academic (very endearingly played by Elliot Huxtable) and a friendly young man (Tom Tokley) whose face is obscured by a gimp mask. Tokley is a far more loveable submissive than Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades of Grey and almost steals the show in his latex get-up. Costume and props no doubt had a whale of a time with this storyline.
The title relates to the group that Miranda sets up: an all-female therapy group, devoutly attended by nervy student Nicola (Alice Hudson), reluctantly attended by Paula and accidentally attended by Emma. Hudson really shines in
these scenes, roleplaying her domineering father to heart-breaking effect.
The play has lots to say about women but also about being human, so men and women, all get yourself a ticket tonight for this wonderfully entertaining show.