LITERAIR THATER BRANOUL
THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS
World Premiere June 17-22, 2008
PETYA - RUTH TAPP
IMBI - KATARINA DJENADIC
ANNA - ELAINE GRACIE
DIRECTOR - SARAH MAHONEY
AUTHOR - CHERYL WHITE
SOUND DESIGN - GEORGE MADDOCKS
PRODUCED BY STITCHING THE ENGLISH THEATRE
SUMMARY
A funny and moving story about three girls from Eastern Europe, trying their luck in London. They arrive in a dangerous world full of prejudices and scratch out a living while struggling to keep the golden promise of Western Europe alive. When one of them receives an offer from her hometown university, it changes their friendship forever. A new play by British writer Cheryl White, based in The Hague, about friendship, choices and loss.
This play will have its world premiere in EAST WEST EAST Theatre Festival in The Hague, featuring three young British actresses on the brink of their careers.
THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS
World Premiere June 17-22, 2008
PETYA - RUTH TAPP
IMBI - KATARINA DJENADIC
ANNA - ELAINE GRACIE
DIRECTOR - SARAH MAHONEY
AUTHOR - CHERYL WHITE
SOUND DESIGN - GEORGE MADDOCKS
PRODUCED BY STITCHING THE ENGLISH THEATRE
SUMMARY
A funny and moving story about three girls from Eastern Europe, trying their luck in London. They arrive in a dangerous world full of prejudices and scratch out a living while struggling to keep the golden promise of Western Europe alive. When one of them receives an offer from her hometown university, it changes their friendship forever. A new play by British writer Cheryl White, based in The Hague, about friendship, choices and loss.
This play will have its world premiere in EAST WEST EAST Theatre Festival in The Hague, featuring three young British actresses on the brink of their careers.
Review
World Premiere of Petya’s Story in The Hague
(Fri 20 June 2008)
In the tradition of Ken Loach’s movie It’s a Free World and Marina Lewycka’s award-winning novel Two Caravans, Petya’s Story brings an intriguing plot to the stage; the play is a brave attempt to understand and relay the intricate and controversial motives that draw millions of skilled young Eastern Europeans to Britain. Accepting squalid working conditions, social insecurity and abuse, they chase the mirage of a better life by breaking away from the experiences of their parents and grandparents, determined to control their own destinies.
It is not revealed where the girls come from, except that they apply Slavic grammar to English conversation, they all know a certain Orthodox ritual honouring the memory of the departed and they possess a certain cherchez-la-femme vigour that is often lacking in their emancipated Western counterparts.
Imbi, Petya and Anna meet in London: Petya in search of a nice husband (possibly an electrician, like her father); Imbi wants to improve her English and go to university; and Anna…well, Anna chooses the fast track to wealth, as she makes no secret of her living off her seduced, elderly lovers. While reaching for their dreams, the girls form alliances that are useful and pragmatic: they share the rent, their clothes and their hopes.
Being the embodiment of the cliché about easy Eastern European women to the outside world – cleverly hinted at by the frilly white hotel cleaner’s uniforms – they could not be more different. Imby's roots are quite obviously more middle-class than proletarian, Petya's ambitions are limited to marrying well, whilst Anna is most determined to carve glamour and abundance out of whatever she can attain though her charms. Interestingly, she is the only one who will not admit to a shred of doubt as to whether the path she has chosen was the right one, throughout the play.
The characters do what Eastern Europeans do best, in abundance: talk. They vibrate and convince through stories and jokes, reminiscences from the homeland and endearingly naïve recounts of their dreams. They do so with grand gestures and hefty words, an innate sense of drama and logic that is intrinsic to those who have archived many stories of the past in their souls. The shabby London neighborhood, the draining bus rides between their manifold jobs, the dirty looks – this all fades away; the girls have left their families, their beliefs and traditions behind, in order to absorb what they believe to be the world of freedom, choice and opportunity –a definite upgrade in their eyes.
The young actresses, Ruth Tapp, Katarina Djenadic and Elaine Gracie, impress by their credible and thorough manner – not to mention the brilliant dialectal performance of the two Scots and one Serb speaking real Slavic English. They play with passion and consistency, creating an atmosphere that seduces and lingers long after the curtain has fallen.
Without further dissecting the play and its cast, may we advise spectators to bring along an open mind, some patience with the unfolding plot and a lot of creative curiosity? Enjoy!
Eva László-Herbert
The Hague Online
www.thehagueonline.com
(Fri 20 June 2008)
In the tradition of Ken Loach’s movie It’s a Free World and Marina Lewycka’s award-winning novel Two Caravans, Petya’s Story brings an intriguing plot to the stage; the play is a brave attempt to understand and relay the intricate and controversial motives that draw millions of skilled young Eastern Europeans to Britain. Accepting squalid working conditions, social insecurity and abuse, they chase the mirage of a better life by breaking away from the experiences of their parents and grandparents, determined to control their own destinies.
It is not revealed where the girls come from, except that they apply Slavic grammar to English conversation, they all know a certain Orthodox ritual honouring the memory of the departed and they possess a certain cherchez-la-femme vigour that is often lacking in their emancipated Western counterparts.
Imbi, Petya and Anna meet in London: Petya in search of a nice husband (possibly an electrician, like her father); Imbi wants to improve her English and go to university; and Anna…well, Anna chooses the fast track to wealth, as she makes no secret of her living off her seduced, elderly lovers. While reaching for their dreams, the girls form alliances that are useful and pragmatic: they share the rent, their clothes and their hopes.
Being the embodiment of the cliché about easy Eastern European women to the outside world – cleverly hinted at by the frilly white hotel cleaner’s uniforms – they could not be more different. Imby's roots are quite obviously more middle-class than proletarian, Petya's ambitions are limited to marrying well, whilst Anna is most determined to carve glamour and abundance out of whatever she can attain though her charms. Interestingly, she is the only one who will not admit to a shred of doubt as to whether the path she has chosen was the right one, throughout the play.
The characters do what Eastern Europeans do best, in abundance: talk. They vibrate and convince through stories and jokes, reminiscences from the homeland and endearingly naïve recounts of their dreams. They do so with grand gestures and hefty words, an innate sense of drama and logic that is intrinsic to those who have archived many stories of the past in their souls. The shabby London neighborhood, the draining bus rides between their manifold jobs, the dirty looks – this all fades away; the girls have left their families, their beliefs and traditions behind, in order to absorb what they believe to be the world of freedom, choice and opportunity –a definite upgrade in their eyes.
The young actresses, Ruth Tapp, Katarina Djenadic and Elaine Gracie, impress by their credible and thorough manner – not to mention the brilliant dialectal performance of the two Scots and one Serb speaking real Slavic English. They play with passion and consistency, creating an atmosphere that seduces and lingers long after the curtain has fallen.
Without further dissecting the play and its cast, may we advise spectators to bring along an open mind, some patience with the unfolding plot and a lot of creative curiosity? Enjoy!
Eva László-Herbert
The Hague Online
www.thehagueonline.com
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