Watch these two women navigate two different worlds in Gail Louw’s double bill

Emma Wilkinson Wright did an amazing job at portraying four different characters in Gail Louw’s The Mitfords. Each character was significantly different from the way they walked, stood, sat and spoke. It was very impressive watching this actress morph in out of each character so seamlessly. You could definitely see the work she put in for each character. They were all fully fledged individuals with big opinions and Wright did not shy away from showing that. The vocal skill and control that Wright had was great, sustaining it throughout the whole piece. Wright portrayed so many different and difficult emotions, able to jump from one extreme emotion to the next very quickly. You could tell she had a handle on everything that was going on, in and outside of the characters. She mastered and executed each and every emotion beautifully.

I enjoyed watching Wright engage with everything on the stage. She had given each prop that she interacted with meaning. Whilst the audience were coming in, Wright was on stage already in character, simply existing. She did not let the audience distract her from being in her element. You could tell the actor felt very at home on the stage. The stage was very spacious which meant for a big playing space for her to fill and Wright did exactly that. I love how the play constantly switched from each of the Mitford’s perspective’s at very poignant points. It kept me totally fixated on the piece as it was very fast paced and I didn’t want to miss out on anything that I was being told. I thoroughly enjoyed The Mitfords and the big personalities that Wright presented.

The Good Dad was an amazingly balanced play, in terms of tone as well as humour – having just the right amount for a play that was so dark. Sarah Lawrie is a brilliant actress and did the play justice. It was incredible to watch her navigate each character’s journey and the troubles they faced. Again, watching her travel from one character to another so effortlessly was spectacular. You could see how talented Lawrie is by how she manoeuvred each character and her story telling is magnificent. The set for this play was minimalistic and I think it was a great choice. That meant the audience had no choice but to pay attention to the action and the words of this piece. Even though the stage was bare, the actress filled the space with so much of her boldness. I was so invested in this piece and all of the characters, and I didn’t want this play to end! Watching this double bill has made me so excited to explore more of Gail Louw’s work!