Darlington Hippodrome – until Saturday 31st May 2025
Reviewed by Adam Craddock
5*****
It was an absolute pleasure on Thursday night to be invited along to the press night of Tilted Wig Productions’ performance of “Spitfire Girls”, written by and starring Katherine Senior. “Spitfire Girls” follows sisters Bett and Dotty through the middle years of World War Two as they join the ATA (Air Transport Auxiliary), from starting as rookie pilots to running Spitfires and Hurricanes across the country. While I don’t want to reveal too much about the plot I can wholeheartedly say that this is a piece of theatre masterfully written and performed by an impressive cast. The story has some real weight to it and it is not taken lightly by the fantastic group of 5 on stage.
Katherine Senior is fabulous as Bett. She has a real naturalism to her performance with the stakes of their day to day work all too real to her.Senior has an obvious connection to the material but this felt like it was the first time she experienced these emotions and wasn’t at all formulaic. Samuel Tracey was great as Tom/Jimmy, particularly in the role of the former. Tracey was brilliantly charming yet with a hint of chauvinism that I think really lent itself to the character. Jack Holland was good as Dad/Frank. As Frank he was very relatable as a chap we all new from down the local, more bothered about getting an ale than looking after his kids. As Dad he was strong, although I did feel a slight disconnect with some of his scenes in the first act compared to the rest of the cast, slightly breaking the immersion for a second when I had been on the edge of my seat the rest of the time. Kirsty Cox was great as C.O./Joy, with a real air of authority about her as the C.O., contrasting brilliantly with her jovial Scottish girl Joy. However, the real standout performance for me was Laura Matthews as Dotty. Matthews delivered a real tour de force performance, with her character being brilliantly enthusiastic and relatable. Matthews brought be close to tears on two occasions, and while I won’t spoil any plot points I will say the material was masterfully handled. Bravo!
The set design for the production was perfect, simplistic yet imaginative, with the raised platform almost making it feel like an isolated dream. The lighting and sound design were both spot on and the direction was superb. I particularly enjoyed the choreographed movement of Bett and Dotty getting in their aircraft for the first time and taking off, this was an extremely effective device.
Overall I would highly recommend that you see “Spitfire Girls” before it takes off to its next venue. This is a real and relatable production not to be missed.