Flies review

“Too safe to take off”

ReviewsFeb 27, 2023by Anya RyanShoreditch Town Hall, London

Flies at Shoreditch Town Hall, London. Photo: Chelsey Cliff

Feminist rallying cry is politically worthy but lacks dramatic substance and structure

A group of seven girls stand motionless in a photography studio beneath glaring lights. “You’re looking at me. I can see you,” they say to us. Part protest, part rallying cry and part education, Charlie Josephine’s new play, directed by Julia Head, attempts to untangle the daily struggles that young women face about their bodies, objectification and consent. It has an unruly, brassy energy and all the right galvanising intentions. But the writing is patchy and repetitive, and some arguments are undeveloped.

The unnamed girls take turns to share their stories. They’re here to perform a version of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies – but they’re bored with “dead white men’s stories”. Instead, we move on to a discussion of puberty, and how young women’s treatment in society changes when they reach the brink of adulthood, their bodies becoming subject to unwanted scrutiny and judgement. It is an all-too-familiar tale of living under the lens of the male gaze. But the total lack of a character-driven structure means the lines have limited impact.

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This isn’t the fault of the actors, who are all zealous and fiery performers. Opening the evening, Willow Traynor sets the bar high, and Rosa Amos later gives extraordinary candour to her lines about the generational effects of having a mother who hates their body. As the script descends further into anarchy, the whole cast become an impassioned chorus, dancing in feisty formation – a jolting act of protest, before they are shocked back into immobility by the arrival of an older cameraman. It is a snapshot of the fear that women everywhere have to live with.

There are flashes of brilliance, but the play feels dated. An assertion that female pleasure has never before been discussed in popular culture seems dubious, and the awkward references to the writer and their desires feels well worn. This is the kind of ground we’ve covered time and time before. Josephine’s writing strives commendably to pick at important issues, but this is too safe to take off.

Production Details

Production nameFlies

VenueShoreditch Town Hall

LocationLondon

Starts22/02/2023

Ends11/03/2023

Press night24/02/2023

Running time1hr 20mins

AuthorCharlie Josephine

DirectorJulia Head

Assistant directorBea Anderson

Movement directorNandi Bhebhe