Spitfire Girls at Theatre by the Lake Keswick Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by Jo Hardy

Presented by Tilted Wig and MAST productions Spitfire Girls is inspired by true tales from the women in the ATA ( Air Transport Auxiliary) who were pilots in WW11 delivering aircraft around the country, these unsung heroes of the Second World War flew aircraft without navigational equipment using roads and hedges to find their way, they flew many types of aircraft which were allocated to them on a daily basis.

Playing to a full house with a cast of only five very talented word perfect actors the story focuses on two sisters Dotty and Bett played by Laura Mathews and Katherine Senior and the opening scene is set in the “Spitfire” pub on the rainy New Year’s Eve of 1959. Dotty is landlady of the “Spitfire” and she starts looking back to a New Year’s Eve fifteen years before, she has some visitors at her door are they welcome? I wasn’t sure.

It all starts when Dotty and Bett both apply to the ATA to become pilots, we see them getting accepted, going through all the training and embracing their new rolls, I got a sense of rivalry between the sisters in their work and maybe even in love, the elder sister also found it hard to resist her natural urge to protect her little sister and this also brought some problems. I won’t tell you any more of the story as it would spoil your experience if you go to see it yourself.

I was very impressed with the way the show was produced and how they depicted the girls pilot training and gave the audience a sense of flying into the “blue skies” with them without leaving their seats, the expert lighting played a big part in this.

There was a lot of nostalgia in the set, the costumes, and the music, this was a time when smoking was very popular so there’s a lot of that (E cigarettes were used).

There’s plenty of fun and laughter along with the tears and sadness that war brings but I also got a true sense of how resilient and determined people were during these times.

Overall I felt the show was a little slow at the beginning and I spent the intermission trying to work out exactly was going on and what would happen. The second half was much better as it brought everything into perspective and all I’d seen slotted into place.

As always when I’ve been to the theatre I reflected on the story all the way home and one thing it made me think about was all the women who came out of their comfort zone during the war to do these amazing jobs for their country.

On a personal note this show was a poignant reminder for me of my uncle Group Captain Gerry Blacklock who was also a pilot in the Second World War.

Rating: 4/5

The show is 2 hours 10 minutes including interval and is suitable for ages ten and up, most shows start at 7.30pm but there are also a couple of 2pm matinees. It is at Theatre by the Lake Keswick until 29th March, tickets starting at £12 and are available from www.theatrebythelake.com

After Theatre by the Lake the show will be touring the country, all the details can be found on the production companies website www.tiltedwigproductions.com