Mary’s Daughters, staged by BiLLO Studio and written by Kaya Bucholc (in collaboration with Will Wallace), tells the story of the lives of women’s rights campaigner Mary Wollstonecraft, her rarely-heard-of daughter Fanny Imlay, and her very famous daughter Mary Shelley. All three characters are on stage together throughout, and each takes her turn to tell their intertwined stories.
Perhaps you’ve heard of Mary Wollstonecraft: probably you haven’t, or don’t know much about her if you have. You might have heard of her A Vindication of the Rights of Women, but you’ve probably not read it. You almost certainly don’t know her back story and the amazing life she led, taking her to France during the Revolution and to Scandinavia on a wild goose chase on behalf of the scoundrel Gilbert Imlay – both impossibly dangerous episodes.
But Mary’s Daughters is, of course, about her daughters too and their dreadfully difficult relationship with one another – Fanny, who had her mother to herself for three years and then lost the only real family member she knew and loved, and Mary (Shelley), who never knew her mother, who died 11 days after giving birth to her.
The story of their interlinked lives is told beautifully and movingly – especially that of Fanny Imlay. You might not ‘find the Easter Eggs’ as Kaya suggested I might have done, having read an historical novel about Wollstonecraft recently. By ‘Easter Eggs’ she meant the more obscure elements of each story. The ending is superb and unexpectedly humorous for those who don’t know Wollstonecraft’s story or legacy.
The writing is excellent – and very well-researched. The acting is affecting and heartfelt. The staging is simple – books, papers and feathers scattered across the floor – and the venue more spacious and airy than many, as well as lighter generally. A pure breath of fresh air.
I urge you to go and see Mary’s Daughters. It’s billed as a ‘feminist ghost story’. This may attract you, but please don’t let it put you off. It’s a ghost story from the viewpoint that they are all dead – as they tell us from the outset – and they all lived at the same time for only eleven days, so these conversations could never actually have taken place. It’s a fine conceit and intelligently and sensitively played out.
