The Poetical Life of Philomena McGuinness - Theatre 3 The Space at Surgeons Hall - Review

Flighty - ‘someone who is silly, irresponsible, and not serious’.

That is how Philomena McGuinness is described, and the way in which she has been described since birth. With her cheeky smile, bright eyes and determination to state that she is, in fact, a poet despite having never written a thing, Philomena never pictured herself as a nurse. But that is exactly what she becomes, moving from Dublin to London, helping her patients and moving from hospital to hospital throughout the years of the Second World War. As she works with injured soldiers, strives to impress strict matrons and navigate life away from difficult work, we see Philomena set out to prove that she is more than her flighty definition, more than what people think she can be in The Poetical Life of Philomena McGuinness.

In this one woman show, Jasmin Gleeson plays the young nurse with a sharp, witty script written by Josh King, the two forming Moon Rabbit Theatre. The stage is set with a scattering of homely items and personal belongings, a small table, a chair, flowers, a book and a whiskey class, along with a small well worn suitcase. Enough to create a little home and the little world Philomena carries with her.

Having seen previous Moon Rabbit productions such as Shirley: A Ghost Story and Victorine: The Artist’s Model, I know two things for certain. One, King and Gleeson specialise in creating historical pieces that are engaging, funny and entertaining and two, Gleeson is a master in storytelling and keeping the audience hanging on her every word. With Philomena she creates a woman who is strong, independent and full of life. She uses her natural flair for comedy to create not only create and tell stories about several different characters, but to portray every emotion and thought through facial expressions and movement. A raised whisky glass, treated with the care one would approach a wild animal, can be a celebration or a tribute, the placing of a nurses hat atop her head a sign of strength and resilience. Every moment is thought out and deliberate.

King’s script is clever, perfectly balancing the harsh realities, heartbreaks and lost futures of war with Philomena’s ability to approach the difficulties with a smile and a cheeky spark. One moment we witness her joking with wounded soldiers over nicknames, laughing about how somehow every Irish nurse is connected to the other through knowing someone who knows someone and enjoying a rare break with a friend, the next she is dealing with death, loss and a sense of missing home. Every line is delivered at just the right note, and the audience soak it all in, enraptured from start to end.

The Poetical Life of Philomena McGuiness is 50 minutes of Gleeson holding the audience in the palm of her hand, expertly guiding them through the trials and tribulations of a young war time nurse, finding comfort in poetry and drive in friendships. The time flies, and the story stays with you.