Letter for Letter Theatre presented ‘It’s Not Rocket Science’ at The Empty Space Theatre in Salford during our Greater Manchester Fringe season.
The cast of three Alice Connolly (Eve), Stef White (Dad and other male roles) and Helen Knudsen (Mum and multi female roles) tell the story through eight chapters of Eve Jackson the author of book titled ‘It’s Not Rocket Science’ which depicts a women’s journey into a male dominated career.
The journey starts with Eve’s desire and motivation to be involved with Space and rocket ships from early childhood believing she belonged in the stars, different from other girls in her school she clearly excels in physics and goes on to attend University to study aerospace. In a male populated world of aerospace, she soon encounters prejudice against her gender, which persists throughout the 50-minute play.
One particular scene which could be translated into many male dominant jobs is where we see Eve now a successful aerospace engineer ready to present her triumphs to a veteran male predecessor, who mistakes her for a person who is tasked to make cups of tea for the meeting.
The story’s message is that of the struggles of women who chose careers that once were deemed as suited for males only and where the proportion of women is a minority in the organisations. The message is powerfully enhanced by the audio interviews of female interviews who work in the aerospace industry and tells their real experiences of navigating through a male dominated industry.
The cast show cased great versatility by adapting quickly through the transitioning scenes and character changes.
The script (Cecilia Alexander) is a wonderful representation of a female struggles not only in a male domineering organisation but the prejudges childbearing ladies and mothers face in a workplace.
A great delivery from the cast and I wish them well on their journey forward with this theatre piece, which methodically highlights the life journey of female’s struggle of gender inequality.
This play closes on 23rd July, tickets for the remaining shows can be found at https://manchester.ssboxoffice.com/events/its-not-rocket-science/
Reviewer: Katie Leicester
Reviewed: 22nd July 2022
North West End UK Rating: ★★★