A Play, a Pie, and a Pint: The Hen Night @ Assembly Roxy (Review)

Birdy went along with a friend to another showing as part of a Play, a Pie, and a Pint – this time for The Hen Night! It was a really fun show.

This is my second time attending A Play, a Pie, and a Pint @ Assembly Roxy, and this time I had a blast watching this incredibly fun three-woman show.

The description that centred on fiery female friendship and feminist solidarity really sold me on this one, and I knew exactly which friend to bring along for the fun of it. Before we get into it, check out the synopsis below:

Jade, Amber and Lilac have been organising Coral’s hen night for the past six months and it’s going to be epic! But at the last minute, Coral’s cousin Luna rocks up uninvited. Perfect skin, a model, a poet, and a human rights lawyer…a total goddess. It’s too easy to hate her but little do they know just how much they need her…Can the trio unleash their inner Greek chorus or is Coral’s fate in the hands of the gods? A comic joyride by acclaimed writer and director Debbie Hannan, The Hen Night is a love letter to messy nights out, solidarity, and the power of fiery female friendship.

Meet Jade, Amber, Lilac and Coral…

We start the show with introductions to the four main characters – played by three actors, Dani Heron, Laura Lovemore and Anna Russell-Martin – and are told ‘it’s a process’. The process of meeting someone, falling in love, going on hot dates, becoming engaged and planning a wedding. And a hen night, that’s taken six whole months to organise!

Jade, Amber and Lilac are the hens, and Coral is the one getting married. It’s going to be a dream fairytale wedding with lots of Instagram-worthy moments, and everyone will live happily ever after… or will they? Things aren’t always as they seem…

The hen night is underway, and SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS have been consumed, when Coral’s Irish cousin Luna shows up. The trio of friends don’t know how to take it at first, but Luna has a hidden agenda, and after a while she let’s them in on it. You see, Luna’s actually a goddess, and she demonstrates her power by hurling an annoying man out the way.

A new mission

Luna the goddess gives the three girls a new mission, and that’s to save Coral from a relationship that’s going to destroy her. At first, the girls don’t really believe it – they see Coral is happy in a ‘picture perfect’ relationship with Scott. Well, that is, until they start looking more closely, and listening to what their friend actually says.

Throughout the sharp witty lines, the laughs and the girl power theme, there’s a stronger message about empowering your sisters and not allowing any partner to control them, or make them feel like they’re not good enough. That part feels like it has an undercurrent of rawness in it, a relatability that probably a lot of women can connect with through their own experiences.

Luna imbues the girls with the power they need to save their friend from a marriage that is ultimately going to break her. But can they do it? Maybe with the help of Amber’s really cool dad!

Overall

The Hen Night is fun, uplifting, riotously funny, fantastically written girly play with a strong message of female empowerment and friendship (with a touch of divine power) – and it’s exactly what I signed up for! The writing is sharp, funny and on point thanks to writer and director Debbie Hannan, and the performances – with the Laura Lovemore and Anna Martin-Russell playing multiple characters – are absolutely perfect.

The set is fun and there’s added sound effects and fairy lights at just the right moments – along with a tiny bit of audience participation. It’s a highly entertaining hour that goes by quickly, and I hope to see more work from Hannan in the future! I feel like The Hen Night would also be a fabulous Fringe show.