‘Sad Girls Club’ is a hilariously relatable satire performing at the Glasgow Comedy Festival! On Mother’s Day weekend this ode to women fits perfectly on the rostra whilst simultaneously encouraging donations to two charities both Back Off Scotland and Glasgow Women’s Aid. This empowering piece of writing packs a punch covering a range of women’s issues making the show a remarkably relatable watch.
Welcome to Sad Girls club where girls are allowed to be…well sad. Are you sad because your boyfriend broke up with you? Patriarchy getting you down? Rape culture being a real pain in the arse? Crying behind your pals garage ruining new years AGAIN? Well have no fear Sad Girls Club is here!
Hannah Elizabeth Morton both writes and performs within this production as Jamie. The writing style is very naturalistic, it has a subtlety in its approach to genuine feminine issues. It addresses a number of relatable frustrations/issues such as tampon tax, the rule of the Tory government, cheating boyfriends, sexuality, religion and the list could go on. Although this show is relatable no matter where you are from, the references to Glasgow such as “The Shed” in the south side and the Glasgow humor shines through in the writing. The only criticism of the writing is that there are moments where tension could be built up slightly more, there are a few really interesting layered jokes that on paper are brilliant however, they get lost in the delivery to the audience. Hannah as Jamie was the driving force of the play, her switches in energy allowed for a change of pace for the more stylised moments such as the human tinder or the rich boys club. Hannah maintained her energy throughout the show and was really easy to watch.
Hannah Sutherland as Ally had a fully recognised character. Her elavated physical comedy (especially her facial expressions), made for a hilarious watch. Her reactions to the other characters could create a show of it’s own. The physicality that Hannah portrayed brought a heightened anxiety, tension and really interesting character to life. Despite leaning on the elevated comedic aspect of Ally, Hannah still managed to deliver a great sense of realism. While there was a great vocally expressive performance from Hannah, sometimes the dialogue was lost due to volume. However, Strathclyde Union itself was a noisy venue, especially with it being St. Patrick’s Day.
Amy Clark as Kelly had a riveting emotional journey to follow. The writing of the character allowed for great outbursts of emotion from the “laid back, hard wo-man” type character. Amy’s delivery of the dialogue, especially her comedic timing had the audience in stitches. Her nonchalant, no-nonsense approach to the character was highly entertaining. Her vocal strength was great and her character had many endearing and relatable qualities. Amy plays a number of different supporting characters allowing her versatility to be showcased in this production.
Emma McDougall as Cora brings an interesting dynamic to the group. Cora is almost the spectator with the audience, being introduced to the characters at the same time as we are. Emma’s reactions to the other characters are played subtly but extremely well, almost trying to avoid being caught making faces as “genuine reaction” and allow the audience to digest the madness that is these young girls’ lives and private issues. Cora comes across mature and fullof wisdom. Emma has built a fully rounded, self realised character who truly believes in the dialogue she expresses. Tears started to fall from audience members eyes as Emma delivered her monologue at the end. Her delivery was empowering, encouraging women to support women.
Director Daniel Cullen has done a great job of using a minimalistic style which suits the writing of this piece. To allow the writing to shine and flourish the blocking of the more stylised movement works particularly well to change the pace of the peice. The performance feels intimate due to the creative choices. The show would perform well in the round, allowing audience members to catch a glimpse of each character in an even more intimate environment. The lighting and sound is minimalistic but again allows the writing and acting to drive the performance without relying on any crutches.
Overall this performance is a wonderful piece of writing and is performed excellently by the actors on stage. The relatability of this performance from the topical issues covered to the “Glasgow-isms” really struck a cord with the audience. We have a tendency to blame other women, when we are often responding to the wrongdoings of others. This play expresses a need for compassion and empathy which is all too easily forgotten in today’s fast paced, self absorbed society. As women whether it be for the smallest or largest issue we pick up the pieces and find a way to push forward supporting each other along the way. In every way it’s important we continue supporting each other.
Theatre Scotland 
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