peeling
by Kaite O'ReillyDirected and designed by Jenny Sealey
Lighting designed by Ian Scott.
Costumes designed by Kevin Freeman
Arts Council Bursary Assistant Director: Jamie Beddard
Cast: Lisa Hammond, Caroline Parker, Sophie Partridge
images © copyright Patrick BaldwinAn epic production of The Trojan Women is taking place on a huge stage. Stuck at the back in the chorus are Beaty, Coral and Alfa, three actresses rendered almost immobile in their multi-layered, preposterous frocks. They spend most of the production waiting to say a few lines so that the management feel they have done their bit for "social inclusion". While they wait, our three anti-heroines gossip and giggle, lie and heckle. Gradually devastating truths are uncovered which peel away their layers of pretence, along with the layers of their clothes. Kaite O'Reilly's darkly comic new play is about the choices women make and the things they hide.
image © copyright Patrick BaldwinKaite O'Reilly was the winner of the Peggy Ramsay award for Yard, a huge success at home and abroad, where it ran in Berlin for over two years. Her most recent theatre production was Belonging, seen at the Birmingham Rep in November/December 2000 and she has since written Lives Out Of Step for Radio 3 and the screenplay Mouth for British Screen/Channel 4 . She is currently working on her debut novel and a feature film and has been commissioned by the Contact Theatre, Manchester and Sgript Cymru. Kaite, who was previously visually impaired, has a longstanding working relationship with Graeae and has experimented with spoken English and British Sign Language for many years including working as a writer and director with Common Ground Sign Dance Theatre.
Press Quotes from peeling Feb – April 2002
London
“The performances are strong, eloquent and funny and the piece has a cumulative power… had me, for one, close to tears.” Sarah Hemming, Financial Times, 11.04.02
“Lisa Hammond as the bitchy, bitter Beaty… brings together O’Reilly and director Jenny Sealey’s themes in a sometimes violently expressive performance.” Jonathan Gibbs, Time Out, 10.4.02
“…astute…teasing, provocative… far too clever to be pigeonholed.” Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph, 9.4.02
“…funny, feisty and stubbornly individual… all three performances are of a very high order.” Sunday Telegraph, 7.4.02
“The originality of Jenny Sealey’s production lies in its manifold loquaciousness… Parker is a gloriously elegant signer” Susannah Clapp, Observer, 7.4.02
“Graeae has found a bold, engaging way of addressing issues many people would prefer not to be confronted with in a play… This is vicious, intelligent, captivating theatre, and as such deserves to be seen.” Claire Allfree, Metro, 8.4.02
“It is quite a performance. .. a striking and cleverly-judged production by Jenny Sealey… The sheer quality of the writing, its angry wit… all the deceptive simplicity of a Samuel Beckett play… This is a major piece of theatre from a company that refuses to be relegated to the sidelines, and it is acted with honesty and terrific chutzpah…” Lyn Gardner, The Guardian, 6.4.02
“… a fascinating fusion of styles… The most impressive thing about Jenny Sealey’s production is her cast, who put themselves on the line for the audience as much as they do for each other… The unravelling of their spiritual selves… reveals a tragic universal condition.” Patrick Marmion, London Evening Standard, 5.4.02
“a remarkably elaborate, imaginative and hard-hitting piece.” Benedict Nightingale, The Times, 5.4.02
Birmingham
“Writer Kaite O’Reilly and director Jenny Sealey have crafted a show of great power and ingenuity. Peeling feels groundbreaking and boldly new” Birmingham Post 20.2.02
“O’Reilly’s script and cast are both excellent.” Metro 20.2.02
“… an unusual but compelling drama” The Evening Mail 19.2.02
“Peeling is an uncompromising work that is both funny and disturbing” Metro 20.2.02
“funny and clever piece of theatre… in turn savagely and affectionately funny”
Express & Star (Wolverhampton) 19.2.02
Playtext of ‘peeling’ by Kaite O’Reilly (£2.50) available direct from Graeae Theatre Company.
