EDINBURGH 2018: BWW Q&A- A Good Enough Girl

BWW catches up with Ed Littlewood to chat about bringing A Good Enough Girl to the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tell us a bit about A Good Enough Girl.

A Good Enough Girl? is an exhilarating, futuristic exploration of the inspiration and courage of women - an adventure where the audience is actually part of the action. Set in a world of spies, intrigue and secret missions, the stories of every influential woman in history and feminism have been erased. But in every dictatorship there's a resistance... Would you be courageous enough to write their stories all over again?

The production is a captivating, intelligent look at amazing characters like Malala Yousafzai, Millicent Fawcett, and all the women in our lives. It examines the self-empowerment needed to inspire and sustain our young women and the individual in the world today. Our children and young people are growing up in a world of incredible challenges which are completely alien to those faced by their parents. Much of today's social media, programmes and magazines are saturated with a narrow, almost unobtainable view of success. A Good Enough Girl is the antidote to these pressures and artificial concepts.

Original concept by Xana Marwick (BBC New Talent 2017) and created by the company with dialogue by Gowan Calder, directed by Fringe First winner Kate Nelson. It is performed by Gowan Calder (Teacup Travels, Allotment, Outlander) and Maegan Hearons (Sister Act, As You Like It).A Greenwich Theatre, Scene Change Productions and Nutshell Theatre co-production .

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What was the inspiration to write the show?

I wanted to make the show essentially because I have a young daughter and she is at an incredibly impressionable age, bombarded by messages from social media, the internet, TV about image, self-worth and identity, and I felt it really important to create a production which would explore these ideas through famous, infamous, influential women - whether that's the first woman surgeon, Beyonce, Virginia Woolf, or my mother, daughter, wife, next door neighbour etc.

Exploring it through well-known, popular women came about because my daughter loves the current trend in books celebrating strong women such as Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, 100 Women Who Made History and Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World. I wanted to send a message that society is there for you and through education and community will give you the support you need to become who you want to be, not necessarily what you want to be. And we'll still be there for you through moments of self-doubt and anxiety.

A Good Enough Girl? is a tonic for the unrealistic demands and challenges placed on our young women through current trends and memes. I also wanted to make a really fun, exciting show for anyone 8+ and anyone who enjoys a fantastic, exhilarating experience in a theatre, with incredible actors, creatives and production values.

Why is it important to tell these stories?

A Good Enough Girl? started in conversations. The creative team are predominantly female, and this sharing of experience, frustration, celebration and hope unearthed a deep need to tell these stories and share these women with young people. It is vitally important that we empower the next generation of girls to continue to forge new paths and redefine what it means to be female. We believe change begins with the sharing of stories.
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Who would you recommend comes to see it?

A Good Enough Girl? is for families - particularly for those with children between the ages of 8 and 12. The aim is to start conversations between boys, girls and parents so that we can start to talk about what feminism and equality means with our young people. A Good Enough Girl? is a secret meeting at the start of a revolution, it's up to the audience what kind of world they want to fight for when they step out of our bubble.

What do you hope audiences will take away from the production?

We hope that you leave our secret underground meeting with a survival kit for the revolution. We will arm you with inspirational women, for when you need a little guidance, with allies and friends, so you know you're not alone, and with the right to decide what it means to be A Good Enough Girl.

Ticket information and timings are available on the Assembly website.

"Directed with loving attention to detail" **** The Telegraph on Kate Nelson
"Hup is completely recommendable" ***** Broadway Baby on Xana Marwick
"The production is a masterpiece" ***** The Scotsman on Kate Nelson
"...transfixed by myriad pleasures" ***** Three Weeks on Xana Marwick

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