Wolfie at Orange Tree Theatre

I saw Wolfie at Theatre503 in 2019 and it made quite an impression on me. So much so that when recently I was asked by somebody which of the many plays I had seen at Theatre503 was my favourite, Wolfie was the first play that came to mind (quickly followed by several other contenders),

So when I heard that it was coming to Orange Tree Theatre I could hardly wait. But wait I had to as it took a few months for it to appear in their booking system, and even then it was buried with other plays under the heading Greenhouse Festival. I managed to find the booking form and eagerly grabbed a seat for £12.

The reason it was so cheap was that the festival plays were performed by graduating LAMDA students. If anything, that was a plus for me as I have a high regard for recent graduates having seen so many young actors over the years, often in small theatres across London, places like Theatre503.
 

This was a very different Wolfie visually because of the different stage layout and this one used more props than I remembered. The main prop was actually the shopping trolley on the left.

Wolfie is the story of twin girls, the Sharkey twins, who we follow from just before they are born, their birth being through the shopping trolley.

Soon after birth they are separated with one getting a wolf as her new mother and the other a woman who stays in the bath all the time. After that things get weird.

The situation may be a little strange but the story is a simple one of two girls growing up apart and in different ways. What lifts the play far above the simple story is the way that it is told and the language used. 

The story was brought to us by the two girls taking it in turns to tell theirs with the other girl playing characters in her sister's life. They also talked to each other about how they would tell the story, e.g. "It's my turn now.". A novel approach (for me) and it worked.

The language was the highlight with throw-away comments all the time, something like Wilde but also not like Wilde. To give just one example from the many that flew past, one of the sister's said that she and her daughters had not been anywhere recently, apart from a trip into space. There was also something about using Cillit Bang to clean the ocean. You get the idea.

The language also flowed poetically with a rhythm that carried it effortlessly through two hours.

A play like this requires good actors and both women were very good. I would like to namecheck them but the Orange Tree website does not give their names (as far as I can see).

My memory was of something special and it most definitely was.