Bitches in the Ford KA makes for an absolutely riotous night out, as the assured triple threat cast of three (writer Beth Johnston, Leah Kirby and Affton Fay of Cold Dinner Theatre) sang, danced and acted us through a girly road trip to Brighton.
Written in a way that felt honest, relatable and bang up to date, the warm but flawed trio of leads managed to realistically build a teenage girl’s world with the bare minimum of props, set almost entirely in the cramped space of a car, and have you almost fully immersed in it – whilst keeping spoilers to a minimum, The Vaults venue was even transformed into a nightclub at one point, with a really nice twist on audience participation.
Alongside expected teenage concerns around the boys they fancy and which of the friends were the closest, we were also taken on a whistlestop tour of what it is to be a woman living in the modern world, tackling catcalling and consent, adult themes that jostled deliberately and uncomfortably with their squabbles, fake alibis for their parents and remembering the details on their fake ID.
The show had a lot of heart, all three actors fully committed to their roles and they managed to get a lot done in a short time using varying theatrical devices from dream sequences to musical interludes. An all-singing, all-dancing nostalgia trip back to my teenage years with some really enjoyable twists in the tail. Would recommend.
Find out more about Cold Dinner Theatre here!
