‘Rita Estevanovich is a commanding presence”
Bloody Difficult Women is the new play from Tim Walker directed by Stephen Unwin showing at Assembly Ballroom this August. The show follows the lead up and events during Gina Miller’s case against the government.
The 6 person cast interacts within subset groups throughout the performance, however, all cast remain on stage until the final scene. The slickness of interacting scenes is made easy by minimal set and very few props.
The locations are implied by use of a LED screen which stretches across the whole backdrop. The stage also featured a bench which stored props with the only constantly visible prop being a tray of drinks.
The plot is navigated via 3 main points: Parliament, the News and The Miller. Time passage is indicated on the LED screens and although permeates the idea of factual representation it often offers no other purpose.
The cast are slick professionals but occasionally stray into self indulgence, however Rita Estevanovich is commanding and inspiring as Gina Miller. One might ask why in a play called Bloody Difficult Women the cast is heavily male and the text focuses on the males in the story. Often I longed to hear more from and about these women rather than subplots which served the men around them.
The final scene serves as a tonic to the full stage where we see a head to head with both powerful women – unfortunately this does more to highlight the male dominance of the piece.
This piece is perfect for those Fringe goers who have an interest in political narratives but it does feel a little long at 1.5 hours.
Overall a well acted political drama but left me unsatisfied.