NEW YORK—This is a play about women, but the occasional presence and central importance of men is felt throughout.
Scottish playwright Sharman Macdonald’s “When I Was a Girl I Used to Scream and Shout” takes place somewhere in Scotland, but it could be anywhere. It deals with the trials and tribulations of a mother and daughter, and how one’s individual desires are often in conflict with the other’s.
Morag (Aedin Moloney) and her grown daughter, Fiona (Barrie Kreinik), are at the seashore (set by Luke Hegel Cantarella) having a brief holiday, which Morag has arranged. Fiona compliments Morag’s outfit; Morag gifts Fiona with a dress. They make small talk, but it masks an important issue, an issue that will expose itself gradually.
Right after Morag claims she loves Fiona very much, the two are interrupted by the arrival of Vari (Zoë Watkins), an old friend of Fiona’s who’s not seen her for 17 years.
The play goes back and forth in time, with scenes of when the two girls were young and played rather silly games together. However, these games served to educate them for impending womanhood and for what they could expect from men.
Growing into womanhood is about all these isolated girls can look forward to: marriage and motherhood. Although Fiona insists to Morag that she doesn’t want children.
As an adult, Vari’s story is very different from Fiona’s. She has married and has given birth to three children. They tie her down, but she is complacent. This is woman’s lot, after all. She’s also lost her figure through the process. She states matter-of-factly that she always gets heavy when she’s nursing.
Morag’s husband walked out on her years ago, and she yearns for the company and approval of a man. Soon Morag does meet a man, an event that will turn Fiona’s life upside down. Fiona senses that Morag wants to go off with this new man. But how can she? After all, Fiona is only 15 at this time. How could her mother abandon her?
And Morag will stay as Fiona has a plan. A young man, Ewan (Colby Howell), has come into Fiona’s life, and with his unknowing aid, she plans to trap her mother into not leaving her.
This plan lies at the heart of the play, which goes to the universal conflict of what is more important to a woman: protecting her own flesh and blood or yielding to the desire to be protected and appreciated. The conflict is between responsibility and pleasure.
The play exudes a bittersweetness. One senses the powerful tie between mother and daughter, but their helplessness is also evident. Their environment, their positions in the world, do not make for independence. These are women whose lives center around home and dependence on a man.
In societies where women have earning capacity, these conflicts are not so severe. But even working women experience conflicts such as these. And in many parts of the world, including the United States, women experience a struggle to achieve an even keel with men.
Director John Keating has done a workmanlike job with the play, the demands of which are relatively straightforward. One directorial note, though, caught my attention: When Morag declares her love for Fiona, the two characters have been placed far apart physically. Thus actress Moloney virtually has to shout her declaration of love across the stage in what would usually be an intimate moment.
This staging could be taken one of two ways, or perhaps both ways. The shout could serve to accent the strong feelings Morag has for her daughter. On the other hand, it could indicate a distance between them, despite Morag’s protestations.
The acting is good throughout. Fallen Angel Theatre, which is presenting this play, was founded by actress Aedin Moloney. The organization is committed to presenting “outstanding and dynamic” Irish and British plays written by and about women.
Incidental music was composed by Paddy Moloney.
A strong and thoughtful production.
‘When I Was a Girl I Used to Scream and Shout’
The Clurman Theatre, Theatre Row
410 W. 42nd St.
Tickets: 212-239-6200 or Telecharge.com
Running Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes (one intermission)
Closes: May 8
Diana Barth writes for various publications, including New Millennium. She may be contacted at [email protected]
