Wednesday evening saw me heading to the theatre for the second time in a week, to review the life story of a woman who, to my great shame, I had never heard of before.
Mary Wollstonecraft is her name, and six super talented performers brought her story to life at the Hull Truck Theatre, when it hosted Mary and the Hyenas.
The crowds flocked in for this world premiere, written by Hull playwright Maureen Lennon with original music by singer-songwriter Billy Nomates.
Born in London, in 1759, Mary’s childhood was spent in the market town of Beverley, a short distance from Hull, in East Yorkshire, after her family moved there in 1768.
The show starts at the end of her life, in 1797, as she is giving birth to her second daughter, Mary (who went on to find fame writing Frankenstein).
The stage setting for this production consisted of large brown cubes that were periodically and unobtrusively moved around the stage, by the cast, to be used as steps, tables, seats et al.
Mary (an energetic dynamo with the most glorious shock of red hair. Recognise yourself Laura Elsworthy?), didn’t gloss over the birthing ordeal, screaming and cursing like a good ‘un, until out popped her daughter – weak but alive.
As entertaining as this scene was, I couldn’t help thinking that 10 days after the birth, Mary was dead (I’d Googled earlier), due to complications and infection. She was 38. But the show didn’t dwell on her demise.
Elsworthy stuck to her one role (but what a role!) while her five fellow actors swapped their characters – sometimes being male, sometimes female.
The five – Kate Hampson, Ainy Medina, Elexi Walker, Beth Crame and Kat Johns-Burke, along with Elsworthy – changed costumes before our very eyes; everything from dresses with huge flounces and fitted bodices, to skin-tight breeches and waistcoats.
Each performer had a head mic so not a spoken word was lost; and their singing was in tune and harmonic.
Today, known as a writer, philosopher and feminist icon, especially because of the publication of her book, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, in 1792 – a tome she was widely ridiculed for by most menfolk of the day – this production, thanks to a multi-talented cast, brought Mary’s existence to life so vividly, thanks to Maureen Lennon’s superb writing and an electrifying music score by Billy Nomates.
We watch as Mary faces brutality from her own father, opened up a girls’ school which suffered financially, became a governess in Ireland, a post she was fired from, and wrote her first book (Thoughts on the Education of Daughters) while back in London – all the while advocating for women’s rights and equality.
The year 1793 saw Mary head to Paris, fearing for her life as an English woman during the French Revolution. That year she fell in love and gave birth out of wedlock (shock, horror) to her first daughter, Fanny.
Abandoned by the child’s father, she later marries and has the aforementioned Frankenstein author, Mary. Then we are back at the beginning of the show.
There is never a dull moment in Mary and the Hyenas – Mary’s supporters were given the nickname “hyenas in petticoats” by the 18th-century writer Horace Walpole – thanks mainly to some superb acting and singing.
To my mind, Elsworthy showed the 18th-century feminist with a modernity reminiscent of a 21st-century, bovver-booted tearaway. She leapt around the stage, dress held aloft, breast heaving, fists raised, showing a determination for her cause. That wonderful mop of hair as unruly as ever.
Her fellow cast members were all equally energetic and entertaining.
For a Wollstencraft ignoramus such as myself, thanks to the above-mentioned six, the story was easy to follow.
We were just getting into the swing of things, as were the cast when, 45 minutes into the production, we were all asked to leave the auditorium and gather in the foyer.
An audience member had been taken ill but, happily, recovered and we were allowed back to our seats.
The six on-stage talents bounced back on stage, carrying on as if nothing had happened. What troupers!
Feminism wasn’t rammed down our throats in this enlightening production, but I did come away thinking what a poor deal females had back then, in a man’s world.
A fascinating story very well told. Bravo to all concerned.
Mary and the Hyenas is at Hull Truck Theatre until 1st March. Tickets are on sale from the box office on (01482) 323638; www.hulltruck.co.uk
Reviewer: Jackie Foottit
Reviewed: 12th February 2025
North West End UK Rating:
Rating: 4 out of 5.
