Sunny Girl – New Adelphi Theatre, Salford

Bringing plenty of sunshine and humour, Rain Man’s counterpart, Sunny Girl, is just an autistic girl living in a neurotypical world.

Written and performed by Beth Westbrook ‘Sunny Girl’ tells the story of Erin, which is closely based on Westbrook’s own experiences of navigating through the five categories that make up the intensive assessment for Autism. The plays depicts the process in which an individual, with support from their family, needs to recall past feelings, experiences, and behavioural traits in order for a specialist to determine whether they meet the criteria for Autism.

Sunny Girl takes a look at each category and the related memories, which are recalled within the safety of Erin’s ‘Mind Palace’, an explosion of colours, textures and objects which are used to help represent key moments throughout Erin’s childhood and young adulthood.  And there’s no getting away from global sensation Taylor Swift who holds a heavy presence throughout, with self-confessed Swiftie Westbrook, littering the writing with Swift lyrics, or ‘Easter Eggs’.  Swift’s ease to be able to connect to her fans inspires a theory from Erin that her heroine must also be neurodivergent, a reflection of the comfort many people find through Swift’s music, and her natural magnetism.   

Westbrook’s honesty and humour is warm and inviting. Erin’s ‘happy go lucky’ nature is perpetuated by some interesting insights into the experiences found within the broad spectrum of Neurodiversity. The play will deeply resonant with anyone who has had to persevere in the challenge of getting a GP to listen, take their concerns seriously, and refer onto the ever-increasing waiting list to see a specialist.

We hear of the doubt and flippancy of friends and family, who painfully dismiss Erin’s behaviours as ‘ditsy’ or awkward. How Erin handles these relationships throughout pre and post diagnosis does warrant further exploration. Erin’s sister disclosing her protective fears and truthful resentment of Erin provide some of the most interesting insight into the wider social environment of those living with an undiagnosed Neurodiversity, and how this could impact on their journey towards a formal diagnosis.

Directed by Imogen Dowding, the production itself is naturally accessible with accompanied, comprehensive pre show information, including Westbrook’s reassuring introduction to the piece, which is a relaxed, captioned performance.  The subtitles were welcomed as unfortunately, perhaps in a battle with the very humid New Adelphi’s large floor fans, some of the dialogue was lost due to Westbrook’s very low voice projection, which potentially would have been an issue for people with a sensory impairment.  The play overrun by 15 minutes due to some pauses in dialogue which were slightly overdone. 

On the surface, Sunny Girl is a brilliant, much needed concept that most people, whether self or formally diagnosed as Neurodivergent can closely identify with.  In terms of raising awareness and misconceptions around Neurodiversity to a wider audience, its needs to delve a little deeper. 

Reviewer: Gill Lewis

Reviewed: 22^nd July 2024

North West End UK Rating: