Low Level Panic @ The Orange Tree Theatre Review

As He for She Arts Week begins and women all over the world are celebrated today, The Orange Tree Theatre have put on a ‘deliciously silly’ (Alice Saville, Time Out) performance to promote feminism and celebrate Girl Power!

Courtesy of The Orange Tree Theatre.

Courtesy of The Orange Tree Theatre.

Low Level Panic, directed by Chelsea Walker, takes us back into the 90’s to show us how important the relationships between women are. The performance is filled with funny and relatable conversations between three best friends, and tackles issues about sexual assault and feminism.

The whole play is set in a bathroom of a flat shared by three girls. Mary (Sophie Melville), Jo (Katherine Pearce) and Celia (Samantha Pearl). It is here, Jo sits unselfconsciously in the bath and Mary, on the window sill that the girls share imaginary stories of sex and porn compared to the boys they meet at parties. Mary, a recent victim of sexual assault, battles with herself, questioning whether she is at fault through the performance. Melville connects beautifully with the audience as she speaks about the assault. She uses the small and intimate space to her advantage talking directly to each audience member. Pearce who plays Jo, has brilliant comic timing and keeps the performance light and fun for the audience, she steals the show! She is unapologetically bold and brash and comfortable on stage. She is just like a girls best friend and completely hilarious while confronting issues of self esteem and self loving through the performance, which is so relatable for every girl. Samantha Pearl uses her limited time on stage perfectly to show a different kind of woman compared to the other girls. She funnily talks about the importance of the right eye shadow shade for a perfect life.

Although the play is set in the 90’s it is filled with modern technical techniques that bring the audience back in to the now and makes us realise it is still so relevant. The set feels fondly put together and feels just like the bathroom I share with my three best friends at our student house and the music keeps the show upbeat and fun. The only negative thing about this play is that it simply wasn’t long enough! The hour and 20 minutes flies by and I am gutted it has to end. Although the show ends abruptly, I walk out of the theatre with a new feeling of self love and I feel so proud to be a woman. The women in the play show the tenacity of women, relevance of feminism and how sticking together is so important. I love it!

Review written by Alicia Mooney.

Low Level Panic is currently showing at the Orange Tree Theatre until Saturday 25th March. For more information on the production, visit here…

Written by Theatrefullstop