Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour – London Calling

By Melinda Peterson

Wow, wow, double wow, in fact, wow times 6.

Six catholic girls’ school students from the coastal town of Oban in western Scotland go to Edinburgh for a choir competition. We are shown that these 6 could actually win the competition as their singing is truly and perfectly angelic. Since they are not angels, and since they are Scottish teenagers, they spend that one night in the big city before the next day’s competition being Scottish teenagers. In other words, there is a LOT of alcohol involved.

Still, they have all that talent to get them through … until they sing “Mr. Blue Sky” and then that talent is magnified by 3 in the person of a brilliant back-up trio. Bear in mind, the stage is now populated by 9 females (and directed by a female) and the ceiling is severely cracked as the roof is in the throes of being blown off. The play lasts 1 hour and 45 minutes without an intermission/interval and at final curtain one may well find oneself quite depleted as riding the turbulent night’s ups, downs, sideways, inside-outs and backwards roller coaster stimulates every emotion and sense one has.

Now, some may find getting all of the nuances of the dialogue impossible due to the use of authentic accents but, no one will miss the bigger picture of these immaculately differentiated girls as they flirt with mayhem. Some on-stage audience members add to the effect of night-clubbing as, once used, light-weight props are cast aside in their direction. A production from the National Theatre and now playing the West End at the Duke of York’s theatre, it is a ticket and an evening to cherish for a very long time.

Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour Adapted by Lee Hall from the novel The Sopranos by Alan Warner  Director Vicky Featherstone