Sheila’s Island

Flies on Love Island

Sheila’s Island

by Tim Firth

The Questors at the Judi Dench Playhouse, Ealing until 14^th October

Review by Polly Davies

Sheila’s Island is an interesting choice for the Questors autumn offering.  Based on the earlier Neville’s island, also running alongside at Questors, the author Tim Firth has more recently recast the play to redress the gender balance by substituting female characters for the original’s middle aged men.  As before, the play shows four middle managers, now all female, coping with a team building exercise gone wrong.   Some overthinking by the keen team leader has caused a trip to the Lake District from their company base in Salford to turn from a gentle stroll through the countryside into a scary shipwreck on a deserted island in the middle of Derwentwater.

It is no disservice to the cast to start by praising the superb set design which worked so well as the plot twisted and turned; as did the impressive sound and lighting effects.  Well done to Alex Marker, Roger Brace, Jane Arnold-Forster, Alasdair Graebner and their teams. 

The characters are pretty good representations, maybe a bit too close to stereotypes, of the types of people found in any office and the script is very funny.   So it is very easy to laugh along with Sheila (Frances Sherwin) the appointed Team Leader, a calmly efficient mother of twins, doing her best to minimise the situation her decisions have caused; Julie  (Lesley McCall)  the ever-organised HR manager whose attention to detail has led to early promotion, but left her with an understandable uncertainty about her position;  Fay, (Holly Gillanders)  the youngest manager, who, slightly nerdy to begin with, has been affected by a recent tragedy has led to a prolonged sick leave from which she has only just returned.  And Denise (admirably played on the night by stand-in Alison Griffin who also gets Director credit), the assertive promotee from the shop floor.  Denise shows her resentment of her fellow managers, who have had an easier ride, by continual banter and snide comments disguised as jokes.   The cast made these characters real.   We could worry with Julie about her husband’s lengthy outing, empathise with Denise’s irritation, maybe jealousy towards her married companions, and want to know more about the mysterious Lucy,    

The second half comes closer to Lord of the Flies  than Love Island, so prepare for some tough realities alongside the humour.   As the fog descends and the cold and lack of food kick in, the character flaws hinted at early on start to manifest themselves.   Even Sheila’s calmness takes on a slightly manic determination, Fay is pushed over the edge, while Julie and Denise turn on each other.   

The script of the play shows the age of the original, as its treatment of Fay’s recent mental illness and its gradual return, and her companion’s attitude to both, will leave some of the audience feeling uncomfortable.    Despite this, the increasing darkness of the play and a tendency to go a bit OTT in the second half, this play is a very funny comedy and the impeccable comic timing of all the cast meant that no joke was missed.   Alison Griffin’s ability to get a laugh, while necessarily reading in from a script, was impressive. 

Polly Davies, October 2023

Image courtesy of Questors