Daisy Pulls It Off

DAISY PULLS IT OFF by Denise Deegan is set in 1927 and is a parody of the adventure stories of life in 1920s girls’ boarding schools.  It is the story of Daisy Meredith, an elementary schoolgirl and we follow Daisy as she overcomes snobbery and prejudice at Grangewood School for Young Ladies.  Director, Lesley Nicholls assembled an excellent cast with Erin Cristy as the perky and daring Daisy. Erin was bright, bubbly and enthusiastic and allowed Daisy’s innocence to shine through but also showed that she could be brave and mischievous. She had fine support in this hearty adventure story from Amanda Pennnington as her new chum Trixie. Amanda sustained the energy and comedy of Trixie’s character and was very enjoyable to watch.

We were taken through a series of schoolgirl pranks and manipulations to sully Daisy’s reputation and these were engineered by the smug snob Sybil and her beastly chum Monica, played with assurance by Alicia Forsaith and Alison Heritage.  The pranks were interspersed with sensible advice from the head girl Clare, a smooth and confident performance from Paola Burgess and her kindly friend, Alice (Becky Wilson).   Keeping the girls in check were the staff led by Kevin Cluett as Miss Gibson.

The action moved along nicely: classroom bickering, treasure hunting and the formation of  a secret society, a cliff-top rescue, hot water bottle fight and assembly. The cast injected a lot of life into proceedings.

The split-level set was well designed with wood panelled school hall being transformed by using blackboards/noticeboards. Other scene changes were efficient and seamless and were done while the action continued.

This was an ensemble piece and each cast member helped evoke a life far removed from present day schools but was spiffing fun.  Massive congratulations to Lesley Nicholls, cast and crew for saving the production when tragedy struck. Jolly good show Hartley Arts Group.

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