‘Edgy’ is the adjective upon the audience’s lips as they enter the Burton Taylor Studio. And as much as this can be a pejorative term, Milja Fenger’s original play She Was Yellow is edgy – but in the best sense of the world. Experimental, unsettling and provoking She Was Yellow is some of the best new writing I’ve seen whilst at Oxford.
There is such sweetness and pleasure in the opening scenes of the play, and humour too, that I could easily have watched Alashiya Gordes as Aurelie and Sarah Perry as Ilona for a few acts as they move from hesitant friendship to established passion, such is the ease and joy they communicate. But unfortunately, the business of the play must continue and we zip dizzyingly through their courtship until Aurelie must deal with the implications of two diagnoses; pregnancy and a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer. From here on out, the play delves into a much darker and sadder place; gone is the pleasing accompaniment of bouncy Jack-Johnson style guitar, and a particularly evocative strain of Gershwin-esque saxophone haunts the latter half of the production.
The set is minimal with Gordes and Perry creating the backdrop as the play progresses. The final image they create bringing together the themes of reproduction and perpetuation in a very satisfying climax and I applaud this innovative directorial touch. Most of all however, I enjoy the way in which the play is able to sustain an emotional intensity – I hear more than one person speak of trying not to cry as we leave the theatre – and I think this has a lot to do with Sarah Perry’s endearing portrayal of emotional strength.
Milja Fenger’s script does something rather special: educating and celebrating scientific knowledge without conspicuously forcing facts down our throats. At its core is a celebration of both story-telling and science, something Aurelie knows and which it takes Ilona and us the rest of the play to find out. A play constructed around intimate dialogues rather than dramatic action it is often very funny. If it has a tendency to sound portentous then it is because the material calls for the characters to talk seriously and honestly to each other. She Was Yellow could perhaps do with a little more polish – there are a couple of moments when lines jar or timing is slightly off, but this did not hamper my enjoyment.
Experimental theatre may not fill the stalls but Fenger’s play deserves to. If you can get a ticket for the last couple of performances at the Burton Taylor I’d urge you to go, if not look out for what Fenger does next – I predict a colourful future.
