Hello From Bertha and 27 Wagons Full of Cotton ~ [Hen and Chickens Theatre] ~ Review

This double-bill is an absolute treat, a rejuvenation of two lesser known one act Tenessee Williams plays from theatre company Blunt Pyramid. Although both plays were written in the 1940s their themes are as relevant today as they have ever been, discussing issues such as prostitution and domestic abuse in an unflinchingly human way.

Hello from Bertha is the doomed tale of a young woman who has lost her way. We find Bertha at her lowest point, sick, washed up, and penniless. Alcohol, prostitution, and helpless misery have left Bertha bedridden and unable to work, and during the course of the play we see her try to plead her case with the owner of the bordello in which she lives and plies her trade in. The proprietor of the establishment, Goldie, wants her room cleared out for a girl capable of working, Bertha is taking up valuable bed space and therefore losing her money, but Bertha is head sick and delusional and refuses to budge.

This is a hard but honest portrayal of lost youth and innocence, we see the terrible results of one woman’s fall from grace and the hopelessness of situation she finds herself in. Hannah Dale, who stars in the title role, absolutely makes this show. Her fearless performance as the young working-girl whose drink-addled brain can no longer differentiate between what’s real and what’s not is heart-breaking. Broken both mentally and physically, possibly beyond repair, this poor woman’s desperation is conveyed with no-holds-barred by Dale as she quite literally drags herself around the stage and rambles hysterically in the vain hope that someone will come to save her.

27 Wagons Full of Cotton is the story of a young couple struggling to keep their heads above water and the place of a woman in the rural south of America in the 1930s. When her controlling husband takes on the task of working twenty seven wagons of cotton after the cotton gin of their neighbour Silva mysteriously burns down, Flora finds herself having to spend an afternoon alone on the porch with her husband’s dominating new employer. In the air between them hangs a terrible secret, and what follows is an agonising game of cat-and-mouse as the menacing Silva attempts to pry the secret from lips.

Dark and unsettling, 27 Wagons deals with themes of domestic abuse and sexual violence, and touches on themes of poverty and racism. Sam Raffal’s spine chilling performance as the oily slick and dangerous Silva is enough to make you tremble – from his serpent like Southern drawl to his predatory physicality, he dominates the stage with a threatening presence that’s impossible to ignore. The innocent and simple minded Flora is played to perfection by Hollie Murten, who is both funny and wonderfully endearing. Flora’s glow of naivety and innocence makes this tale even more unnerving, it’s enough to make the audience want to jump onstage and whisk her away from these horrible and violent men before they can inevitably destroy her.

Both plays take a hard look at the problems faced by women in a world dominated by men. Troubling and thought-provoking, you’ll leave the theatre with goose bumps, guaranteed. The quality of acting is first class and the direction is simple but incredibly effective. This is Tenessee Williams at his finest, executed with sensitivity, care, and heart.


Hello From Bertha and 27 Wagons Full of Cotton ~ [Hen and Chickens Theatre] ~ Review
★★★★