EDINBURGH 2017: BWW Q&A- The Revlon Girl

Tell us a bit about The Revlon Girl.

Based on real events following the Aberfan Disaster of 1966 in which 144 people were killed (116 of them children; most perishing at their school desks), The Revlon Girl tells the uplifting true story of a group of bereaved mothers who met in the disaster's aftermath to talk, cry and even laugh without feeling guilty. At one of these meetings, they looked at each other and admitted how much they felt they'd let themselves go and- afraid of being judged frivolous- they secretly arranged for a representative from Revlon to come and give them beauty tips. The action takes place on a rainy Tuesday night in a room above the Aberfan Hotel.

Why is it an important story to tell?

Simply because it is one of those stories- and one of those events- so unthinkable and so incomprehensibly tragic, that it's hard to believe it's true. And not just that; but that it happened in the last 50 years and in one of the richest countries in the world.

The Revlon Girl is essentially two stories: the first is where 150,000 tonnes of mining waste slipped from its site on a mountain high above a school wiping out a generation of children in a Welsh mining village (and the failures that led to it) and the other story is of a group of bereaved mothers who made a quiet, yet valiant, attempt to regain something of themselves.

Both stories tell us something fundamental about human nature - from the gritty to the heroic- and each serve as a reminder of the corrosive and sometimes catastrophic effect of indifference- not just on society but also on individuals. If there was ever a story that encapsulates what happens when 'the little people' are ignored, this is the one. Some regard The Revlon Girl as a timely fable for how elitist attitudes towards those 'beneath them' can lead to political upheaval on the one hand (seen recently in US & European politics) and to chilling disaster on the other. (Indeed, at the time of writing we are feeling the play's resonance and weight in a recent disaster in the UK - a fire in a West London tower block- that has stark parallels with the Aberfan disaster; such as staggering negligence, of social inequality, of class indifference, of unheeded warnings, technological hubris and how the media (then as now) have come under fire for sensationalising human suffering.

So in one respect it's important because it is a reminder - for the modern age- of how badly things can turn out if you blindly trust those in authority or turn a blind eye to the daily plight of others. At the play's heart however is a simple, compelling and universal tale about people; a people who, though already beaten, found the strength to carry on.

The characters run the emotional gamut: from resilience to courage to humour to desperation to stubborness to grief and, thankfully, towards hope. And it should be said that it is a story that we don't see that often - a story about women, told by women. The play is unique in so far as it goes beyond how women are perceived in terms of their roles or their looks (their 'beauty', their 'worth') to how they should or shouldn't grieve their children, what kind of jokes they tell, how they pick their fights or how they are defined- not by themselves, but by those around them. So this story is important for all kinds of reasons.

Perhaps we should tell it for the the same reason we tell and re-tell classics from 'Oliver Twist' to 'Death of a Salesman' - or even in classic movies such as 'Titanic' and 'Schindlers List'- to remind ourselves how brutal the world can be when we let it, that the unthinkable does happen and that we should never let it happen again.

How has audience response been so far?

Overwhelming but not necessarily in the way you might first imagine. It is true the play enjoyed sell-out performances during last year's tour (many of these in venues as large as 600 seats) but I also mean 'it's been overwhelming' in another way: as mentioned, we toured the play last year in Wales (coinciding with the 50th Anniversary of the disaster) and performed within a stone's throw of where the actual disaster happened.

We knew that in such venues the audience would be made up of people directly affected (families of lost children or indeed survivors themselves) and naturally we felt a degree of trepidation (simply because you don't know how people would react to a play that not only tackles a sensitive subject head on - and believe me, in some parts of Wales this subject is still very sensitive- but one that also contains a great deal of humour).

We were overwhelmed not just by how enthusiastically it was received- standing ovations and the such like (which is as much down to the actors as anything else)- but also by how the play affected people on a personal level. For example, following a show in Blackwood, the writer was confronted in the foyer by a woman in her forties who, without a word, flung her arms around him and began to sob uncontrollably. It transpired that her father had attended the disaster and had dug children out of the school, but who - so affected by the experience- never spoke of it to his family. It was a dark and remote place that her father kept from them all. He had since died and the woman felt that she had finally 'seen' what her father saw and, consequently, felt closer to him.

At the other end of the spectrum, and during its first low-key outing in London, the play had a remarkable reaction from those from outside Wales, and indeed outside the UK. In particular, we found European and American audience members who said how deeply affected they were and how they found the play resonating in stories from their home countries and, in some cases, were indignant (and even angry) that they had never heard of the disaster. After learning what had transpired they asked us "how could it happen!?"

So it would be fair to say the audience response thus far has been 'overwhelming' as well as 'surprising', 'remarkable', 'touching', 'enthusiastic' and yes, sometimes very moving.

Why bring it to Edinburgh?

Though a story about a small village in a small country to an unsung group of women 50 years ago, it's very much a tale for our time and our world now. It is a universal story with enduring themes and abiding emotions- and for that reason we know it has an international audience. It almost goes without saying that the play would have strong appeal to audiences in the United States (along with Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand et al) but we feel there's an equally strong audience in those countries where English is already a strong second language (such as Sweden and Denmark) but also where English is increasingly being used. Having said that, so passionate are we about the play- we would relish the prospect of translating the play and mounting a new production in another country.

Anyway, the point is- and to answer your question- there is no better place to start, and no better place to aim 'The Revlon Girl' towards the world stage- than Edinburgh.

Who would you recommend comes to see The Revlon Girl?

I would highly recommend 'The Revlon Girl' to ardent fans of Arthur Miller, J.B. Priestly, John Osborne, Clifford Odets, Tracy Letts, Edward Albee, Aaron Sorkin and even David Mamet or, to put it another way, anyone who likes their drama to be acute, moving, funny and enduring.

Or to anyone who loves an emotional rollercoaster or historical drama (it goes without saying that if you have Welsh or British heritage 'The Revlon Girl' is a must!) or if you remember what beauty meant in the 1960s, then this play is for you. Or perhaps if, like me, you're fed up with gimmicky plays that have more tricks than substance and instead want a good story told well, with some outstanding performances, and see a play that not just means something, but takes you somewhere!

Timings and ticket information for The Revlon Girl can be found on the edfringe website.

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