By Dan O’Farrell.
I experience a moment of trepidation as I take my seat at Salisbury Playhouse for the touring production of ‘Spitfire Girls’. The austere-looking stage – a bare, raised hexagon dominated by a Spitfire roundel – and the 1940’s period-glamour of the programme clutched in my workshy hands makes me worry. What have I got myself into? Is this going to be an evening of war-time reminiscing for the ‘good old days’ of the Battle of Britain? Will Vera Lynn feature? Nothing against those that enjoy a bit of Vera, but it’s a queasy vibe for some of us. Luckily, my fears are quickly dispelled: ‘Spitfire Girls’ is a nuanced and fascinating piece, and tonight’s performance produces plenty of raw and emotional moments.
The story revolves around the tale of two sisters – Bett and Dotty – who answer an advert to become ‘ferry pilots’ in World War Two, at least in part to escape their domineering father. Their story is told mostly in flashback, triggered by the two women meeting again in Bett’s pub on New Year’s Eve, 1959, but the framing device also offers a highly effective narrative denouement that the spoiler police must prevent me from describing. The bulk of the action takes place in the offices, mess-rooms and drinking-dens of the ATA and shows an intriguing aspect of the war that I’ve never seen before.
The story of the Air Transport Auxiliary service – the ATA – is an amazing strand in itself. Formed to move RAF warplanes between factories, airfields and maintenance units, the service started recruiting women in 1940. Writer Katherine Senior – who also plays Bett – spent years researching the role of the women pilots of the ATA but has managed to wear her research lightly in the script, focusing instead on the human relationships that form the emotional centre of the play.
The focus on flight and the freedom it brings becomes a powerful metaphor for the struggle experienced by both sisters and – by extension – many women of the time. In particular, younger sister Dotty – played with pleasingly wide-eyed wilfulness by Hannah Morrison – frequently expresses her joy in the ‘big blue’ and her ability to soar though it in the fastest aircraft yet invented. It’s a powerful reminder of the irony that it took a wartime economy to give women like Dotty and Bett the chance to excel at jobs usually reserved only for ‘the boys’. Dotty dreads the end of the war: it will mean her adventure ends and she’ll have to return to the dreaded pig-farm where her father awaits.
The relationships in the play are also well-drawn and well-performed. Paul Brown brings laid-back charm to the role of Dot’s suitor, the laconic fighter-pilot Tom, and the script allows the audience to also sense his connection to Bett, a love-triangle hinted at… a mystery to solve. Jack Hulland extracts unexpected pathos from both his two roles: the father unable to accept the flight of ‘his girls’ but also unable to express how much he misses them, and the drunkard in the pub who continually gets the rough edge of Bett’s tongue but senses her unhappiness.
The key relationship, however, is between the two sisters. Katherine Senior brings a sense of dutiful helplessness to the role of Bett, trapped by her need to be the ‘sensible one’ but driven to the edge of breakdown by her inability to express her fears and emotions to her more head-strong and charismatic sibling. It’s deeply observed material, and the most memorable scenes stem from the sisters’ contrasting emotional states.
The minimalism of the setting enables speedy, naturalistic transitions between time-periods, and also gives space for some beautifully choreographed flights of fancy, from the swing-time abandonment of the 1940’s dancehalls to a balletic exploration of Dotty’s fervour for flight. It’s all fluid and highly effective.
‘Spitfire Girls’ is a surprising, bravely downbeat work which brings a little-known strand of history to life for a modern audience and then uses this setting to explore the pressures, sacrifices and tragedies of its convincing cast of characters. Dismiss any wartime stereotypes from your mind: it’s well-worth catching.
‘Spitfire Girls’ is at Salisbury Playhouse until 9th May and then touring until the end of the month. Booking: tiltedwigproductions.com/book-now
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