The Party Girls ★★★★★

The Mitford Sisters – historical figures who have fascinated, appalled, and inspired for the best part of a century – form the focus of this new play, The Party Girls, produced by Marlowe Theatre. Born to the eccentric Lord and Lady Redesdale, the siblings included a top-selling author, two fascists, and a communist. The diverse political dynamics and their impact on the sisters’ lives as socialites, set against a backdrop of rising extremism and the Second World War, drive the narrative of the piece.

The play begins in Washington in the 1940s, where social activist Jessica Mitford (Emma Noakes) meets Jewish lawyer Bob Treuhaft (Joe Coen), and the pair form a friendship over their shared left-leaning ideals. The timeline then jumps back to the 1930s and the family home in Oxfordshire, where the young sisters and their contrasting personalities are first seen – authoritative eldest sibling Nancy (Kirsty Besterman), calm but calculated Diana (Elisabeth Dermot Walsh), feisty and free-spirited Unity (Ell Potter), sweet and innocent Debo (Flora Spencer-Longhurst), and conscientious Jessica. Through several decades and continent switches the lives of the sisters entwine and separate, as their individual choices and affiliations determine their destinies.

This is a beautifully written piece of theatre – the dialogue frequently sparkles with warmth and wit. To balance comedy (and there are many funny lines here) with a genuine sense of foreboding during one of the world’s darkest periods is no mean feat. The actors display great versatility in portraying the sisters over a period of more than thirty years, with all the accompanying costume and wig changes. All the cast are strong, but special mention goes to Ell Potter, who provides some of the funniest, most chilling, and emotional moments with a remarkable performance.

Another triumph for The Party Girls is the staging – moving platforms are used to stylish effect to shift the action between settings, and projections of place names onto a thin curtain keep the audience in the picture as to which part of the world the story has moved to. It all adds up to a very aesthetically impressive production. This play warms your heart one minute, then makes you shudder and think the next. A celebration of family bonds and a warning of the intoxicating grip that power can have. Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended.