Visually striking, brilliantly acted, and unafraid to challenge its audience. If you can still get hold of a ticket, it’s absolutely not one to miss.
Walking into the Oxford Playhouse for The Party Girls, I had no prior knowledge of the Mitford sisters, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I found was a piece of theatre that was visually slick, tightly performed, and thematically challenging in all the right ways.
The production immediately set the tone with a silk-like curtain billowing gently on stage. This wasn’t just decoration: throughout the performance, the curtain became a projection screen for time and place, guiding the audience through seamless jumps from 1942 to 1932 and forward to 1969. Behind it, the set shifted fluidly, creating a sense of cinematic transition that never stalled the action. Designer Simon Kenny and lighting designer Aideen Malone deserve huge credit here, the staging transported us from Washington D.C. to Oxfordshire and out to France with elegance and clarity. The moving set pieces also meant the drama never paused for clunky scene changes, which kept the energy alive.
Equally impressive was the work of Kelly Cox (wigs, hair, and make-up). The transformations were so strong that by the time the story jumped to 1969, I genuinely had to double-check whether the same actors were on stage. The aging process was subtle yet convincing, adding depth and realism to the storytelling.
As for the performances themselves, every actor brought something distinct, making it impossible to single anyone out. They all worked as a unit, balancing humour, charm, and the darker undertones of the narrative. The pacing felt spot-on, carrying us through decades of history without dragging or feeling rushed. If I had one critique, it would be that in moments of shouting, some of the intensity slipped. The delivery occasionally felt a bit forced, where a more controlled rawness might have kept the tension sharper. Still, this was a minor blip in an otherwise excellent set of performances.
The play doesn’t shy away from the uncomfortable, particularly the openly antisemitic views expressed by Unity and Diana Mitford. In today’s world, hearing such rhetoric on stage is jarring, but it’s also essential. These views were a real part of history, and the production didn’t sanitise or sidestep them. Instead, it forced the audience to confront the disturbing reality of how these women aligned themselves with fascism. The discomfort in the room was palpable, which only highlighted how effectively the actors delivered these moments. Theatre isn’t just about entertainment; it’s also about holding up a mirror to society, and The Party Girls did exactly that.
Overall, this was a fantastic piece of theatre: visually striking, brilliantly acted, and unafraid to challenge its audience. If you can still get hold of a ticket, it’s absolutely not one to miss.