Tag Archives: Miriam Battye

SCENES WITH GIRLS

★★★

Golden Goose Theatre

SCENES WITH GIRLS

Golden Goose Theatre

★★★

“this production pulls on every bit of substance and brightness that it can”

Female friendship. It’s a bit of a media minefield, if we’re honest — full of portrayals of women betraying one another, being pitted against each other, or some combination thereof. Then there are the bubblegum and candy-floss versions that aim to act as though women never fall victim to the societal conditioning that causes them to view each other as competition. Miriam Battye’s Scenes with Girls aims to walk the tightrope between these worlds, showing us women who are trying, ostensibly, to fight the conditioning that tells them they need men in their lives, that it’s acceptable to abandon your friendships when a boy comes along offering you not just attention, but sex as well. It’s a shame then, that the text never really manages to make us believe in the relationships that we’re observing.

Originally premiering at the Royal Court in 2020, Scenes with Girls follows Lou and Tosh, two best friends who are determined to buck what they refer to as “the narrative” — effectively, the idea that they are meant to centre boys and romance in their lives. They take two very different approaches to the matter, Lou’s being more “practical” and Tosh’s more “theoretical” — at least, according to Lou, which seems to make Tosh bristle. Lou views sex through what we would probably view as a traditionally masculine lens. She talks on and on about her various exploits, while consistently congratulating herself on her personal detachment from the act itself. Tosh, however, has seemingly taken something of a vow of celibacy, though she never says it in so many words. This, the relationship with Lou, is enough for her. It’s all that matters. If only Lou could understand it, too. Occasionally, their former flatmate Fran makes appearances. She’s been coaxed to the dark side, as it were — dating a man that Lou and Tosh clearly both view as milquetoast at best. They’re needlessly cruel about Fran, saying awful things about her behind her back, and every time she goes to the toilet. The whole situation feels like a strangely low-stakes powder keg, primed for explosion.

But whatever the story may lack, this production pulls on every bit of substance and brightness that it can. As Tosh, Lyndsey Ruiz is a gorgeous balance of self assuredness and latent rage. She loves Lou desperately and just wants to be loved in return. Hannah Renar’s Lou is a lovely foil. She almost never stands still, as though there’s something inside of her, just aching for release. But she plays her distraction, her mild disinterest in Tosh with skilful subtlety. Eli Rose-Cooper’s Fran, though not leant a terrible amount of complexity in the text, is lovely as well — we spend very little time with her, but we see her inner conflict, how much she wants to be part of what Tosh and Lou share, how much she still needs these women in her life. These accomplished performances are complimented by some well-considered music choices, as well as very clever lighting design by Phil Hamilton.

All in all, one leaves the theatre wishing that the topics at hand were better explored. They’re important, relevant, and ones that we rarely see represented with the appropriate complexity on stage or screen. That being said, this version of Scenes with Girls is well worth a watch.



SCENES WITH GIRLS

Golden Goose Theatre

Reviewed on 25th April 2025

by Stacey Cullen

Photography by Herbie Barlow

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF MARTIN LUTHER KING | ★★★ | January 2025
PAST TENTS | ★★★ | October 2024
JOCK | ★★½ | June 2024
STREET SONGS: A BUSKER’S TALE | ★★★★ | April 2024
WHAT I REALLY THINK OF MY HUSBAND | ★★★ | November 2023
STRANGERS IN BETWEEN | ★★★★ | September 2023

SCENES WITH GIRLS

SCENES WITH GIRLS

SCENES WITH GIRLS

Strategic Love Play

Strategic Love Play

★★★★★

Soho Theatre

STRATEGIC LOVE PLAY at the Soho Theatre

★★★★★

Strategic Love Play

“Miriam Battye’s script is refreshingly honest and bitingly funny”

Boy meets girl. Girl harangues boy about the exhausting state of modern dating. Will girl persuade boy to stay? She has a pitch – settle for each other, and so remove the hellish search for ‘the one’. Can these two really set love aside and hack the system?

This two-hander is a push and pull, with both characters persuading and panicking in equal parts. It’s desperate, tense and raw. When it’s not unspeakably bleak it’s completely endearing.

Miriam Battye’s script is refreshingly honest and bitingly funny. The dialogue sizzles between these two hopeless individuals and the disastrous date comes alive as it spirals into a whirlwind of potential. Katie Posner’s energetic and dynamic direction keep the momentum whizzing along. This is vital. The darkness is always there, but there’s barely a gap between punchlines to process it. The characters are wincingly vulnerable. At times this is almost physically painful, you want to shout at them to stop talking, but the strength of the script and the direction means you’re back laughing with (or, at) them a minute later.

The play is about modern love, and men and women, but it’s also about these two tired and broken people. The characterisation is complex and well developed. She is more than bitter and he is more than a bit basic. Their whole worlds are alluded to, she affirms she’s very successful, but we never find out her job. It is repeatedly, if subtly hinted that he has no friends. There are stereotypes that are explored, but it never feels lazy, they are nodded to in a way which allows the play to become a broader social commentary.

“This play is funny, and unusual and feels extremely modern”

Letty Thomas (Her) and Archie Backhouse (Him) are sublime. Their comedy, chemistry and cohesion are key in making this show a delight to watch. The moment when Her tough mask slips, and she breaks down is executed by Thomas beautifully. It is a moment of true poignancy. Backhouse has particularly good comic timing, and the audience responds well to his baffled nice-boy jokes. However, it is when they work together, sparring and wheedling, that the performances really shine. In observing the easy, and genuinely sexy connection of the characters, it is important to note the role of intimacy director, Robbie Taylor Hunt.

The play is staged in the round, with a table and chairs that revolve on the spinning centre of the stage, lit from above by an overhanging floor lamp. Rhys Jarman designed the set, a highlight of which was the lamp turning into a working tap, filling Thomas’ cup with ‘beer’ while the stage span wildly. The lighting design by Rajiv Pattani does feel a little familiar, we have seen neon lights that flicker with rising tension a few times, but it does underline the tone nicely and it is effective, if not fresh.

This play is funny, and unusual and feels extremely modern. There are questions about power in it, there were moments where if the genders were reversed it would have been deeply uncomfortable, but that is in many ways the point. The play questions the conventions of dating, and love, and gender in an original and sparky way.


STRATEGIC LOVE PLAY at the Soho Theatre

Reviewed on 7th September 2023

by Auriol Reddaway

Photography by Pamela Raith


 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Kate | ★★★★★ | September 2023
Eve: All About Her | ★★★★★ | August 2023
String V Spitta | ★★★★ | August 2023
Bloody Elle | ★★★★★ | July 2023
Peter Smith’s Diana | | July 2023
Britanick | ★★★★★ | February 2023
Le Gateau Chocolat: A Night at the Musicals | ★★★★ | January 2023
Welcome Home | ★★★★ | January 2023
We Were Promised Honey! | ★★★★ | November 2022
Super High Resolution | ★★★ | November 2022

Strategic Love Play

Strategic Love Play

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