Review: SHEILA’S ISLAND, The Lowry - UK tour

Photo credit: Craig Fuller

Back in 1992, writer Tim Firth created and staged his play Neville’s Island, which has now been reworked in 2022 with an alternate 21st century setting, and a gender flipped cast to create a new rendition: Sheila’s Island.

Described by the creators as an amalgamation of Lord of the Flies, Miranda and The Office, Firth’s Sheila’s Island follows co-workers Sheila (Judy Flynn), Denise (Abigail Thaw), Julie (Rina Fatania) and Fay (Sara Crowe) as they embark on a company teambuilding weekend in the Lake District, but are led astray and become stranded on an island as the team follow Sheila’s not-so-clever cryptic clue solving since she misinterpreted the instructions given to the team.  This quartet must now really test their team working skills by finding an escape route off the island whilst bonding with one another, but will they survive, or will they be at each other’s throats?

Director Joanna Read not only directs the cast brilliantly, but was also the one who sparked inspiration for Tim Firth in that an adaptation of his original 1992 play would still work marvellously with an all-female cast.  Having also written the classic British comedy Calendar Girls, Tim Firth has managed to inject humour throughout the whole script, although there are a few jokes that either unfortunately fall flat or are only amusing for older audience members who can relate to jokes about middle aged life, leaving those in their 20s and 30s feeling a little left out of the joke.  There are some topics and bits of backstory that are mentioned in the show by characters, but they aren’t really explored in much depth which is a bit of a shame.

The set is excellently simple yet effective as it really creates the scene of an isolated island surrounded by trees.  They even have water to wade through onstage for their entrance which means the show is funny from the get-go.  There are moments when the technical elements feel as if they could’ve been a bit slicker to improve the flow between scene transitions, with some moments where actors are not fully lit and occasionally clunky moving of slides upstage; they aren’t constant issues but are enough to distract audience’s attention.

It seems there is a never-ending collection of props appearing from Julie’s backpack which simply adds to the humour with each new item she pulls out of her Mary Poppins-like bag.  But the props are not the highlight of the show, as this of course is the cast.  The four women have a great chemistry together and their squabbles and arguments really feel realistic as they seem to bounce off of each other’s energy.

Sheila’s Island is a witty and relatable tale of dreaded company team building exercises gone wrong.  With questions being asked, truths being told and dirty laundry being aired, overall it is a good show with a great cast that is certainly entertaining, and better than any team building exercises!

*** Three stars

Reviewed by: Jess Dalloway

Sheila’s Island plays at the Lowry until 2 April, with tickets available here.