Review: GILDED BUTTERFLIES, The Hope Theatre

Tormented Casserole's Gilded Butterflies comes back to the stage after successful runs around the UK in their first Off-West end production at The Hope Theatre. The two-hander, devised by the company and directed by Kathryn Papworth-Smith, sees young Maggie (Francesca McCrohon) struggling to keep a hand on real life while being convicted.

She examines her existence and future mainly through one-sided conversations with the woman who's in the cell beside hers and various exchanges with her lawyer and sister (all characters played by Samantha Pain). McCrohon holds the weight of the play on her shoulders, moulding the long monologues into what feels like a natural stream of consciousness.

Whereas she looks entirely comfortable in Maggie's shoes, Pain's performance is quite static and doesn't own the dynamism required to swap characters quickly and successfully. She does, however, support her partner well, acting as a sounding board for her reflections.

Unfortunately, the gorgeous and poignant text doesn't reason with its surroundings. It's immobile in the bare set, made only of two sad beds and a couple of chairs. The major lack of visual cues grounds the play on the subject matter but makes it fall rather flat in terms of well-roundedness of the show.

The company pen a clever and sharp script that works subtly with the audience, getting them to a place where they can insinuate doubt and uncertainty through Maggie's isolation and perception of her situation.

As it is, Gilded Butterflies is a complete exploration of imprisonment, womanhood, and the pressure it comes with but would benefit from the further development of the staging and delivery aspects.

Gilded Butterflies runs at The Hope Theatre until 24 November.

Photo credit: Rebecca Rayne

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