Oh Jemima! This evening, The Marco Players, presented a splendid rendition of the 1983 school girl drama 'Daisy Pulls It Off!' in Partnership with Bolton Amateur Theatre Society. 'Daisy Pulls It Off!' explores a spectacular story of devoted friendships, schoolgirl rivalry and upperclass British-ness! Think 'Educating Rita' meets 'The Importance Of Being Earnest' with a dash of 'Wild Child' added in for good measure.
Grangewood School For Girls offers one lucky girl, Daisy Meredith, the opportunity to attend the prestigious academy on a temporary scholarship, a peculiar new occurrence that the financially more stable girls don’t agree with.
Collette Wiseman’s performance is stunning as the naive and hopeful Daisy Meredith, I was completely engrossed by her 4th year charms and her pure heart. Throughout the play Wiseman drew upon all her emotions, as the character battles a rollercoaster of hope, resentment and disappointment; her "preppy" attitude as the protagonist keeps the story flowing and the Brechtian tendencies fresh in the audiences mind. Alongside Wiseman, Rhiann Millington played the rottenly cruel Sybil Burlington, a character I felt I had to warm to at the start however thoroughly loved throughout the final scenes of the play. Millington had the characteristics of every mean girl we’d ever come to know in film and theatre nevertheless I found her impeccable reactions to what was happening on stage her best feature by far!
Lyndsey Taylor, Judith Leigh, Ruth Haslam and Alice Fitzpatrick all did wonderful jobs as the impeccable girls of Grangewood School alongside Annabel Barnes whose sidekick role matched Burlington’s villain perfectly. Charlotte Ashworth’s head girl and sports captain persona left me in envy of her performance, her personality like a ray of sunshine left the audience feeling hyped, especially during the Hockey cup finals!
Nick Edwards' portrayal of Miss Gibson the loving headmistress of Grangewood incorporated the appropriate level of drag whilst being completely believable and comical! Alongside Edwards, Richard Leigh, Chris Brooks, Judith Firth and Sharon Shaw each give amicable performances as the heads of faculty. Leigh’s performance as the enigmatic Russian Music Teacher I found most amusing and captivating.
Finally, I must say my favorite character throughout the whole performance was Trixie Martin played by Zoe Molyneux. Throughout the performance Molyneux brought a breath of fresh air to each scene she was in, her comical, unique and whacky character thought and said everything the audience was anticipating without it becoming predictable. Her small outbursts never created an annoyance, whilst Trixie’s naughty but golden heart shone through with each decision the character made. The friendship Wiseman and Molyneux portrayed on stage was genuine and wholesome keeping to the younger age both girls were playing. Fantastic job.
The Marco Players put on a fabulous performance transporting me to the late 1920s, the director Paul Costello clearly focused upon the stereotypes and clear connotations of boarding school dramas, giving the play an authentic and recognisable feel. Sheila Hogg and Charlotte Ashworth did a fantastic job with the wardrobe of the production, this was by far one of my favorite elements, outlining and heightening the different shapes and sizes of these girls. Another component I thoroughly loved!
Overall I really enjoyed watching 'Daisy Pulls It Off!' I found the characters likeable, the story-line was interesting and I particularly LOVED the singing at the end, a pleasant surprise for a musical fan!
Reviewer - Caroline Bleakley
on - 15/5/19
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