The Gut Girls

Presented by Young Company

By Sarah Daniels 
 
The 'gut girls' of Deptford, in Victorian London, are a rowdy, boisterous bunch who have mouths like sailors and are as strong as the oxen they gut. By day they are up to their knees in freshly slaughtered animal entrails, but in the evening they are their own women, financially independent, rare for working class women of the time. Enter Lady Helena, an aristocrat on a mission to teach the 'gut girls' some manners and to get them employed as domestic staff. The result is a total surrender of their independence, spirit and way of life.  Sarah Daniels' play celebrates the exuberant pagan force of human nature and at the same time depicts how 'civilising' efforts of society and religion can destroy souls - especially those of women. It is a poignant reminder that history demands the last word, as the struggles for women's equality continue even into the 21st Century.

The Young Company return to the Drum Theatre to present this compelling and hugely entertaining play by one of the country's foremost female playwrights. They continue their reputation as one of the leading youth theatre's in the country by presenting work of the highest standard that is both striking and inspiring for all audiences.

...stunning stuff
EVENING HERALD, AT BREAK OF DAY, 2006