The Bad One - Tara Studio
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
JANICE Connolly’s The Bad One, a darkly funny modern fable that asks what happens when we unleash our wild side, will visit Tara Studio from Wednesday, October 29 to Friday, October 31, 2008.
The Bad One is a quirky fairytale in which Greggs’ pasties sit side by side with red shoes and talking bears. It follows the story of Jackie, the good girl who stayed at home but sometimes yearned for something more, until one day, she felt the wind blowing through the forest…
Connolly (aka comic Mrs Barbara Nice and of Phoenix Nights fame) was inspired to create a female take on the novel Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. However, contrary to the Victorian classic in which Dr Jekyll’s wish to separate himself from his own dark side backfires when the guilt-free pleasures of Mr Hyde take over the good Doctor entirely, The Bad One explores the idea that to strike a healthy balance, we need to embrace the dark side that exists in all of us, in order to be a whole person.
Researched with a range of women in Birmingham, The Bad One rings true with their real life experiences. As author Connolly explains: “In The Bad One, a woman is kept away from her instinctive wild side and it leads to tragedy. Set in a storybook-land of orphans, orchards and locked rooms, it is a dark but often wickedly funny cautionary tale about what happens if a woman is kept apart from herself.”
Terina Talbot directs a cast that includes Janice Connolly (as Grandma), Susie Riddell (Jackie), Heather Pilkington (Heidi) and Laurence Saunders (Laurence).
The Bad One is presented by Women & Theatre, an award-winning company specialising in Theatre in Health, Education and Social Care; has lighting, set and costume design by Frances Rice; film by Chris Cuthbert and musical direction by Michael Aduwali.
Tara Studio’s September Programme