Review: Unruly at Live Theatre Newcastle

“…as honest and raw as it gets…”

Unruly by Vici Wreford-Sinnott, Live Theatre Newcastle

By Melina Turner-Deeks

Unruly is a semi-autobiographical show that embodies the fight for equality, recognition and empowerment for female disabled artists. The writing by Vici Wreford-Sinnott is exceptionally poetic and will have you as an ally in the fight for freedom from the get-go.

The show is produced by Little Cog, an incredibly impressive and inclusive theatre company that works tirelessly to put disabled narratives and protagonists into the world. Little Cog provides pivotal platforms for disabled artists – actors, writers, actors, designers, directors, musicians and thinkers – to showcase their exceptional talents, as well as providing mentorship and traineeships to developing artists in their participatory programmes. 

Unruly follows Marina and Suze through their lifelong friendship of punk, police agitation and activism. The set (by Lu Herbert) featured homely furniture, and paint splattered mirrors scrawled with mottos that echo through the show: ‘Piss on Pity’ and ‘Bollocks to you’. However, the sewing machine, paintbrushes and other artist paraphernalia that clutter the surfaces of Marina’s life almost melt away behind the clusters of flowers and grasses that lurk in the foreground, seemingly representing the space between death and life. The two central characters, Marina (Vici Wreford-Sinnott) and Suze (Beccy Owen), are seated on opposite sides of the stage. Although they interact, they remain separated, never touching or making direct contact. Another gesture towards their distinct places in the realms of living and dead. 

The performance, as well as the set, is rich in symbolism, with physical gifts from historical disabled women featuring as messages from allies of the past. This recurring theme allowed the show to give space to real disabled women and showcase their heroism, bravery and punk-before-punk-existed attitudes. These very real women of history span centuries and continents, providing a historical lineage for disabled women to belong to. The line-up features a WWII spy, a victim of the Lancashire witch trials, a suffragette, an American ‘Freak Show’ performer and a woman who had been incarcerated for 60 years for having a learning disability. These fascinating vignettes emphasise the need for activism, as it becomes obvious that equality is still a long way off. The timing of the show coinciding with the Labour government’s announcement to drastically cut support for disability reinforces this very point.

It is obvious that this show is the culmination of a lifetime of rebelling against the status quo and fighting for cultural space as a disabled female artist. Vici Wreford-Sinnott embodies the character of Marina, whose masterful storytelling weaves together the stories of a number of disabled female freedom fighters. The plot explores the paths of two fictional best friends; paths that cross and part time and time again as they rebel against a system that repeatedly tries to sideline their voices and calls for equality.

The show incorporates accessibility in every aspect and includes audio description (when necessary) and subtitles (which were slightly distracting, but accessibility is more important here!). However, the British Sign Language interpreter (Sue Lee) was incredible. Not only was she placed centre stage, instead of shoved in a corner, but she was an actual part of the performance, complete with costume and acting responsibilities. This groundbreaking reorganisation of the role of a BSL interpreter spoke on a much larger scale of the way that disabilities are often sidelined and underlines the idea that inclusivity should be fully interwoven into societal norms.

The music was spectacular, the performance space booming with a punk playlist as people took their seats. During the show, composer, sound designer and performer, Beccy Owen, played live music from her space onstage to accompany the mood and highlight the many different forms that art and self-expression can take, as well as how art, in all its forms, can connect us.  

Rarely does theatre touch on political issues in such a direct and unfaltering way, leaving the audience feeling compelled to join the fight, while also feeling touched by humanity. Unruly is a tour de force of an “unnatural shrieking sisterhood” that used civil disobedience to fight for the rights and liberties of disabled women. Unruly is as honest and raw as it gets – a must-see for anyone and everyone.

Unruly plays at Live Theatre Newcastle on Saturday 22 March.

Melina Turner-Deeks is a poet and self-confessed literature nerd. She currently runs literary workshops and bookclubs in North Tyneside as The Literature Lass. When she is not baking, parenting or reading, she loves being outdoors and connecting with nature. Find her on Instagram here or Facebook here.