Review: MAYFLOWER: THEY KNEW THEY WERE PILGRIMS by Kate Glover at Hen and Chickens Theatre 24th May – 11th June

 ‘Letting the truth get in the way of a potentially good story’ ★

Mayflower, by Historia Theatre Company, tracks the preparation and journey of the Pilgrims as they flee religious persecution from England to the Netherlands, and finally to the so-called “New World.”

Historia Theatre Company states that its aim is to stage new plays that take their inspiration from history – a mission statement accurately reflected in writer Kate Glover’s near-encyclopaedic knowledge of the subject. Unfortunately, however, Glover has broken the number one rule of historical-fiction writing – she has not killed nearly enough of her darlings and has instead shoehorned every half-decent titbit uncovered in the research process into a stage script. Sadly, it makes for over-packed dialogue, unnecessary and heavy-handed exposition, and hugely underdeveloped characters. The unrelenting bombardment of facts, required or not, stamp out, or at the very best, overshadow, any potential for humanity in the play and produce something closer to a historical textbook reading than a piece of actual theatre.

Without the humanity, then, I found myself asking, why the Pilgrims? And why the Pilgrims in 2022?

14 characters, played by 8 actors, make up the 2 act, 17 scene play. An absolutely Goliath cast, covering too much plot and leaving next to no space, for the most part, to create any trace of emotional cross-roads with the audience. And the greatest shame of all, hidden in the subplots were 3 or 4 stories that, if given room to breathe, would have made the subject matter exponentially more relatable and, at least in some way, contemporarily relevant. There in front of us was the potentially amazing story of a Dorothy Brandford, forced to leave her 3-year-old child in the Old World as she and her husband sailed for America – and there in front of us were two actors, Emily Harry and (even as a stand-in) James Price, who could have easily carried the emotional weight of the roles. But alas, this story, and others, are skirted over in favour of unnecessary explanations of nautical terminology, awkward attempts at comedy, and irrelevant historical fact, after irrelevant historical fact.

Still, Stephen Riddle’s portrayal of Pastor John Robinson gives the play some much-needed cohesiveness between form and content as he prays aloud, quotes Dunne, and falls to his knees, imploring God to protect his flock on their journey. His conversation with Elizabeth Winslow (played by Francesca Baker), as she seeks spiritual direction and advice on her husband and the journey ahead, was a well-executed and an emotionally poignant oasis in the play, delivered by two clearly dynamic actors, sadly limited by their roles.

So, I’ll end by echoing my previous questions – Why the Pilgrims? And why the Pilgrims in 2022? I now know ten times more than I knew about the Pilgrims before entering the theatre, but it feels sterile, and I’m completely unaware of what to do with it.

MAYFLOWER: THEY KNEW THEY WERE PILGRIMS by Kate Glover

Hen and Chickens Theatre 24th May – 11th June

Box Office: https://www.unrestrictedview.co.uk/mayflower-they-knew-they-were-pilgrims/

Historia Theatre Company

Reviewed by Micheál Lagan