Six catholic schoolgirls in uniform arrive on stage to sing a hymn, Mendelssohn’s “Lift Thine Eyes”. They have angelic voices, it is beautiful. After the song they begin to talk, the language is sinful and the subjects are carnal. The juxtaposition is funny and moving.
This play is the story of their day trip to Edinburgh to sing in a choir competition. Over the course of this twenty four hours they meet various characters from the places they visit. These characters are played by the girls themselves and this combined with the strong accents and dialect made following the action hard work in places. However, the script is witty and coarse and the singing is fantastic, especially the classical pieces and hymns. Many of the rock songs are Electric Light Orchestra covers.
Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour is a well observed play. It is insightful, in that it makes us aware of the difference between the world that their convent schooling is preparing them for and the actual world that they will inhabit when they leave. This play makes you question how qualified ecclesiastic schools are at preparing children for a life in a secular society.
An entertaining and thought provoking show, with a very talented cast. I am sure we shall hear of many of these actors again.
.Enjoyed your review. As an ex-Catholic, I’d say your next-to-last paragraph is itself particularly “insightful.”
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Thanks for the comment. I went to a Catholic school myself so might have been projecting my own prejudices onto the writing. It is a very good play, perhaps I am guilty of overthinking this and I should have just sat back and enjoyed it!
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In my opinion, you’re not “guilty of overthinking this,” and what you call “prejudices” are simply your honest observations and insights based on where you’re coming from. To my mind, this makes for a more interesting review. Let anyone who sees it differently write their own review!
I look forward to reading more of your posts “as time goes by.”
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This sounds like something I would really enjoy. And I like it when you overthink! 😉
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I think you would like it too. BTW I am watching i-zombie because of your blog. It’s like an embarrassing addiction that I return to in moments of weakness.
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iZombie can be a little silly and eye-rolling at times, but it’s basically a cute show with a warm heart buried in the snark. I really appreciate all the in-jokes and random bits of pop-culture trivia that fly by…
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Nick this is such a warm and balanced review. I shall keep my weather eye open for it heading oop North. Thanks for all your reviews. I enjoy reading them even if I rarely comment. Keep up the grand work.
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Thank you very much, so nice of you to say!
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