★★★★★
Set in Victorian Britain, Amy Yeo’s Well Behaved Women is a celebration of female friendships. Best friends Hattie (Evelyn Faber), her lady-in-waiting Marianne (Aishling Jones) and music teacher Emma (Jasmine Joseph) are planning a séance. When the medium is unable to make it, Marianne takes matters into her own hands, hosting a false one in a bid to uncover some of Hattie’s cousin Chester’s (Ethan Kelly) secrets. Predictably, things don’t go quite to plan, and the trio cause complete chaos, complicated further by the arrival of Hattie’s brother Fred (James Miles-Boyd).
There’s interweaving plotlines, meaning there is never a dull moment. Hattie is contemplating asking her girlfriend Cassie to move in, but her annoying cousin Chester is in town, and he is under the assumption that she is married to a man. Marianne longs to be a journalist, and when she is offered a byline if she uncovers a scandal, she decides to dig deeper into Chester’s suspicious past. Emma dreams of getting married, and sets her sights on wooing Chester, while Fred is being sent away as his father doesn’t approve of the woman he wants to marry. All of this is happening while the three girls are hosting the fake séance, assuming different personalities to keep up the charade. It sounds overwhelming, but it fits together seamlessly, never becoming confusing.
There are strong performances from all. Faber is amazing in the role of Hattie, perfectly embodying a rich, aristocratic woman while still keeping her relatable. Jones does a great job of being a fake medium, and Joseph’s facial expressions really convey her initial disgust at Chester. Each of them have fantastic comedic timing, making for a hilarious performance (for the audience anyway; poor Fred looks like he is teetering on the edge of a breakdown trying to figure out what is going on).
Despite being of differing social classes, the girls treat each other as equals from the start of the play, a trope that isn’t often explored in popular culture. Chester’s arrival is a bleak reminder that the oppressive class system is still in full force. He refuses to sit beside Marianne at the séance, but takes an interest in her later when she reappears pretending to be the rich Lady Ashburn. His lines are wince-inducing, especially when he calls Emma “exotic”, along with other microaggressions. He is certainly not the sharpest tool in the box and believes everything the girls say, so it’s extremely satisfying watching him fall for their lies so easily!
Overall, Well Behaved Women is a triumph. It’s farcical and silly, yet extremely slick and well executed. These ordinary women maybe don’t make history, but they certainly put on an entertaining show!
Well Behaved Women will be performed at Gilded Balloon – Doonstairs until 25 August as part of Edinburgh Fringe.
Words by Ellen Leslie
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