Jinny at the Derby Theatre Review
Jinny
Derby Theatre
7-23 March 2016
Reviewed by Katy Nettleton
What they say…
Jinny is 25, a singer-songwriter with a head full of dreams, and going nowhere. She’s done all the things that she should do – she’s talented, she’s strong, she knows her own mind. But it turns out, maybe that’s not enough. Can she make her way in a world where opportunity isn’t guaranteed for all? Smart, fast-paced and humorous new writing with live music, Jinny puts today’s young women centre stage in Derby as part of the Retold series.
RETOLD is a series of newly commissioned plays by Derby Theatre, aiming to crack open classic tales and tell them afresh from the perspective of female characters.
What I say…
If I am perfectly honest, I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy this show. Recently I have been very fortunate and seen various large scale productions and was not sure how a 1 person show would live up to those. How wrong was I?
The show was amazing; captivating. The audience watched in ore as one strong female led the way. She expressed her feelings, her thoughts and touched upon those common feelings that we all have at some point in our lives “are we good enough? There has got to be more…” The energy which was created was inspiring.
Jinny played by Joanna Simpkins had energy, bounce in her step and brought the show alive. The way in which she used the stage (which was set as a studio apartment) and local phrases including “me duck” made the audience laugh and see themselves within Jinny’s world. The creativity in the stage design was brilliant; an ironing board was used as a bus, as a bike, a seat, and yes an ironing board and was perfect (I know this sounds a little bit weird by the nature of using an ironing board as a prop but it truly worked).
The story followed a day with Jinny – her reminiscing about her past, her thoughts for the future and that so very important meeting that could change her life forever. If only her landlord didn’t arrive making her to leave late. Then with one disaster after another would Jinny get the opportunity she deserves… You will have to go and watch to find out!
Joanna Simpkins’ voice was very versatile to the songs and you could feel the pain, hope, and desire in her singing which made you want to help her, show her the way (although I am not entirely sure how I would do that!) and help her achieve her ambition. There was a couple of minor “blips” in her vocals but this is me being overly critical – the way in which the show was performed cannot be praised enough.
There wasn’t 5 minutes that went by without the audience laughing. Many of the poignant words that were said really resonated with me; “there’s not generations there’s one society”, “there are loads of voices” this is so true. We are one society and this one woman show truly brought that home in a humorous and energetic play.
The show lasted around 60 minutes, which was perfect timing. There was no “dull parts” and the audience was fully engaged for its entirety.
The show from writing, performance, stage design and music was outstanding and worthy of the standing ovation.
Overall I would give this 5 out of 5 and say to anyone who loves the theatre, never been to the theatre or would like to spend an evening laughing please go and watch – you won’t be disappointed.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £10.
Jinny is at the Derby Theatre until 23 March 2016. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 01332 593939.
Derby Theatre, 15 Theatre Walk, St Peter’s Quarter, Derby, DE1 2NF | 01332 593939
