Review: FANTASTICALLY GREAT WOMEN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD, King’s Theatre Edinburgh
Photo credit: Pamela Raith
Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World is a show which celebrates women in every way. It’s a show for all who are women and know women, by women, and it serves as a wonderful reminder of the greatness of all women and how we all can change the world in our own small ways.
The show follows a young girl named Jade, who, while on a school trip to a museum, gets forgotten by her group. She sneaks into the closed wing of the museum, named The Gallery of Greatness, and while lamenting how she’s ignored and overlooked, especially now in the wake of her parents’ divorce, she meets the women featured in the gallery. They come to Jade in small groups and teach her lessons about how they changed the world and how she can too.
Many of the women Jade meets are household names – Amelia Earhart, Emmeline Pankhurst, Frida Kahlo – but she also meets some lesser-known women whose stories deserve to be told just as loudly, like Gertrude Ederie, the first woman to swim the English Channel, and Mary Anning, who discovered multiple dinosaur skeletons. It’s so wonderful to see Jade learn from these women – she grows in confidence throughout the show and by the end, she’s discovered that she doesn’t need to write a classic novel, fly a plane or lead a political movement; she just needs to be herself.
The cast are absolutely stellar. Kudzai Mangombe plays 11-year-old Jade so believably, capturing her innocence, excitement and the sadness she feels from being overlooked. She’s joined by four powerhouses playing all of the fantastically great women, who all give incredible performances and make each of the characters they play distinctly different. Renée Lamb has the most emotional part of the show when playing Rosa Parks, as she sings a lullaby to Jade, and Anne Frank. Christina Modestou proves herself a master of accents and comedy playing the larger than life Gertrude Ederie, while also revealing a surprising and beautiful soprano tone as Jane Austen. Jade Kennedy takes on the role of Frida Kahlo with aplomb, filling the stage with colour and joy and leading a percussion break admirably. Finally, Kirstie Skivington’s Emmeline Pankhurst had the audience in the palm of her hand with her rousing ‘Deeds Not Words’, complete with a very complicated rap section. The harmonies and dances (choreography by Danielle ‘Rhimes’ Lecointe) are tight and perfectly executed, reminiscent of Six in many ways, showing just how talented this cast are.
The creative team is almost all-female too. The onstage band (Rhiannon Hopkins, Chloe Rianna, and musical director Audra Cramer) are clearly having a great time and play Miranda Cooper’s catchy pop-inspired tunes with great panache. The lyrics by Chris Bush perfectly capture the stories of these incredible women and the messages they deliver. Director Amy Hodge has produced a whirlwind 90-minutes of energy, colour and joy; a love letter to all women the world over, and it’s a thrill to watch.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Lorna Murray
Fantastically Great Women…plays at the King’s Theatre Edinburgh until 30 April, before continuing its tour until July 2022. Tickets are available here.