Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour is a musical comedy about a Scottish Catholic choir who head to Edinburgh to compete in a competition. So far, so cutesy. However, Alan Warner’s novel adapted by Lee Hall, then follows them on a raucous night out in the capital involving copious alcohol, sex and pyromania.
The show won the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy this year, and the six-person cast also all received an Olivier nomination for their performances so the show has definitely been on my radar for a while. So when TodayTix ran a £15 offer for the show I was keen to see it.
The script bounces from cringe-inducing crudeness to moments of real moving emotion; reminding me somewhat of Girls Trip, only with substantially more references to Hooch, flaming sambuca and Scottish slang. The music is also woven through the plot really well; whilst there are some classical arrangements the other songs are from Electric Light Orchestra which is an…interesting choice although they are brilliantly performed by the cast and the great all-female band. I also had no idea how many songs I recognised by ELO either.
The whole cast are great; both in their acting, singing, movement and ability to move between playing schoolgirls, bouncers, creepy men that are hitting on them and their convent school teachers. I was particularly impressed by Isis Hainsworth as Orla, who is desperate to catch-up with her friends after being severely ill with cancer and Dawn Sievewright as Fionnula who hides her growing feelings for good girl Kay (a nuanced performance for Karen Fishwick) under a brash exterior.
The show is on until September, and I would recommend it as a pretty anarchic, fun night at the theatre (also you can sit on the stage which I imagine it quite a fun experience).
A Scatter of Thoughts 