‘Bad girls’ deliver a great performance
Bad Girls Gryphon Theatre, till September 22 Reviewed by Ruby Macandrew
Equal parts funny, heartwarming and uncomfortable, the newly established Kauri Theatre Company hit the ground running with its inaugural show
Bad Girls The Musical, a gritty prison-based musical at Wellington’s Gryphon Theatre.
The show, based on the popular United Kingdom TV series of the same name, follows several female inmates as they navigate through all the mundane, horrific and comical aspects of prison life – from abuses of power to a lack of sex.
From the jump, it’s Jo Grant’s Shell Dockley that commanded the first half of the show with a manic energy and permanently painted-on smile setting her up to be somewhat of a villain.
But Dockley has nothing on old-guard prison officer, Jim Fenner (played by Chris Green) whose bad deeds, once revealed, prompted an audible gasp from the crowd. In a clever move, his evil nature is only ever vaguely alluded to in conversations, right up until it’s revealed he’s been taking advantage of privileges to the point where a naive inmate takes her life. This starts a chain of events that form the rest of the show.
A clear highlight among the copious musical numbers was All Banged Up, performed by the two Julies – a pair of middle-aged prostitutes (Gillian Boyes and Kate Ghent) – and glamorous mob wife Yvonne Atkins (Tia Minnoch). The hilarious number, bemoaning their lack of ‘‘action’’, was well-delivered.
While the intended main plot follows the love story between new prison wing governor Helen Stewart (Katherine Fuller), and inmate Nikki Wade (Fiona McCabe), it feels more like an aside to the prisoners’ take-down plot against Fenner.
Despite that, the pair’s chemistry was believable with Fuller, in particular, warming up well in the two-hour show.
The simple set and quick changes allowed the production to flow well, enhanced by smartly designed lighting, the soundtrack and voiceovers.
A couple of moments where the dialogue was drowned out by music, or characters talking over one another were the only blips on an otherwise very enjoyable community theatre show.
Be warned, the production is definitely adults-only but it’s more than worth the watch.