She Wolf @ Assembly Roxy
She Wolf, from Edinburgh-based theatre maker Isla Cowan, adds feminist and socioeconomic critique to a classic trope, but could have gone further
Maggie just lost her job, her boyfriend, and her flat: she has seen better days. Days when she was dreaming of climbing to the top of the corporate ladder, on her arm an equally successful businessman, and a potential family in the future. Now she is hiding out at the zoo.
She Wolf, written and performed by Edinburgh-based theatre maker Isla Cowan, is a monologue that weaves eco-feminism and criticism of gender and class into a story about a woman who is trying to get a grip.
Strange things are happening to Maggie; fur is growing on her neck, her canine teeth are longer, and she feels a lust for blood on her tongue. At first, it’s all in her mind – after all, she knows how to behave. When her boyfriend unexpectedly suggests that they take a break to explore life, she doesn’t even cry. “Dump me or don’t,” she comments dryly. After all, she has a plan for herself and cannot waste time. But when a work colleague with the right background and an uncle on the board snaps up the promotion she was so sure of, the growling in her throat cannot be contained any longer.
With a sparse setting – just a park bench and a can of Irn-Bru – Cowan transforms herself and the audience into wolves, which, for the most part, works well. However, an hour-long monologue with no visual aids or physical action needs a depth of character and acting chops to match. Unfortunately, Cowan isn’t fully able to build and uphold that connection with the audience. The character she has written bases her worldview on one line that her aunt told her when she was a child: “This world isn’t made for you. That’s why you have to fight,” which, repeated throughout the play, eventually just feels stale.
The potential of the she-wolf as an ancient trope to express feminine rage and to critique our socioeconomic system could have been taken further. Just as the storyline feels a bit tame, stereotypical characters – the posh co-worker, the career aunt, the twin sister who is a self-indulgent actress – make it feel like an echo of an idea already out there, not the strong howl one would have liked to hear.
She Wolf, Assembly Roxy (Downstairs), until 28 Aug (not 15, 22), 1.50pm, £9.50-12.50