After its premiere at the Dublin Theatre Festival and its highly acclaimed run at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, this theatrical adaptation of Eimear McBride’s debut and gripping novel A GIRL IS A HALF FORMED THING arrives at The Young Vic. It is one of the most important and urgent productions you will see.On a blank stage a nameless girl will tell you her story from a time before she was born to the moment she became fully formed. She will tell a story about rural Ireland and its fields “Filled up with rain. Even cows drown here" She will introduce you to her cold mother and share with you her relationship with her disabled brother. She will take you through her childhood, a childhood destroyed by sexual abuse and an adolescence so painfully conditioned by her uncle who tried but “couldn’t somehow not to”. At some point during this visceral and excruciating story you will realise that the way Girl uses her words and chooses to speak is just as harrowing as her tale.
An absolutely heart-wrenching performance
Written as a stream of consciousness the language of A GIRL IS A HALF FORMED THING has a haunting. dabbing rhythm. However Aoife Duffin’s skill in conveying the horror behind McBride’s short, gripping sentences creates a strange sense of naturalism. From the moment she enters the stage, dressed in pyjama bottoms and a black top, Duffin slowly begins to inhabit the world of the piece. The closer she draws us in, the harder it is for us to detach from Girl’s world. Duffin’s vulnerability, presence and courage as an actress results in an absolutely heart-wrenching performance.
Annie Ryan, the Chicago born director and also the adaptor of this production, fully realises McBride’s world and puts a huge emphasis on the universal essence of the story. Her production is a powerful, feminist, compelling tragedy that proves that the power of good theatre lies in honest and raw storytelling.
A GIRL IS A HALF FORMED THING is an absolute masterpiece of distinctive, haunting writing, clear and humane direction and raw and dedicated acting.
The theatre company Complicite are known for their dedication to long periods of research and wide reach of collaboration, to devise innovative, imaginative theatre and THE ENCOUNTER, Simon McBurney’s latest offering currently playing at the Barbican, is no exception.