It starts with a phone call: Harry (Ralph Davis) sits in his shambolic flat in London with clothes littered everywhere. He leaves a message for his mum, asking for money and lying about a new job. Without saying as much you can tell he’s distressed and defeated. This familiar scenario gets complicated when his younger sister Ellie (Maddy Glaseby) comes desperately knocking at his door looking for a place to stay. Ellie brings with her the ghosts of Harry’s past, plunging him into a state of vulnerability and despair.
Harry’s verbose friend Joseph (Maanuv Thiara) turns up to find something in the bath which forces Harry to question the impetus for Ellie running away. We are forced to grasp for clues since things are left unspoken, making it all the more haunting, causing our imagination to run riot. We assume the worst and these suspicions are reinforced when Mr. Woodstock (George Wilson) offers a testimonial type monologue, outlining the lead up of events which prompted Ellie to flee from home. His chilling, recollective account doesn’t go as far as to explain what happened, leaving us scratching our heads.
The young cast of four deliver a compelling performance. Davis, who is actor as well as the writer of this brave piece, gathered the cast from different theatre groups so this is an independent and more or less collaborative effort which is commendable.
For some this may be a frustrating and tantalising play. After the show there was a sense of confusion, as baffled audience members clustered trying to figure out exactly what had happened to the young girl. With so much emphasis on Ellie’s turbulent relationship with her father some could see it as a bit of a cliff-hanger. If you are not prepared to speculate and come up with your own conclusions, perhaps reconsider. For most however Daughters is perplexing.
The cast have a lot of talent and promise. Davis’ unsettling and teasing piece has enough substance to plunge you in so as to make you wonder.
