The Last Of The Pelican Daughters (2022)

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Poster by Han Evans

by The Wardrobe Ensemble

Directed by Han Evans

Performances: Tuesday 27 September - Saturday 1 October 2022, Old Fire Station


Introduction

In folklore, pelican mothers feed their young on their own blood. Today, four sisters are trying to come to terms with their mother’s death – and divide their mother’s house between them. Mum’s presence still seeps through the ceiling and the floors. The Pelican Daughters are home for the last time.

First performed in 2019 and produced in collaboration with Complicite, this play written by The Wardrobe Ensemble is a blunt, beautiful and funny exploration of family, grief, entitlement and trust. You can love your siblings, but you may not always like them, and when conflict springs between you and the people that know you best, you can only hope that blood really is thicker than water.

Cast

Crew

Thanks

To Giselle, Martin for all the help behind the scenes, Alice for the dresses, Emaus in West Norwood for the furniture, all the incredible Front of House and Bar volunteers, and Benny, Minnie and Omar's dog for their vital moral support.

Reviews

I was lucky to see the Dress Rehearsal of this family-reunion drama and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Lust, envy, jealousy, selfishness are some of the many characteristics displayed within this sisterhood where every one of them holds a personal burden. Some scenes had me holding myself with laughter and others holding myself back from yelling “And quite right too, you selfish lot!” Fortunately I restrained myself which is quite the opposite of what happens on stage. The acting from everyone is superb both physically and emotionally and the direction is tight. The three men attached to this sisterly circle certainly hold their own with strong performances and delivered some great lines.

In this play the ‘absent’ mother is cleverly portrayed by the family in turn and we were given a clear picture of the hippy mum and her idea of love and family bonds. The solicitor who also plays Granny’s friend had terrific comic timing and versatility. In the interests of “no spoilers” please I shall refrain from commenting further except to say I went away quite relieved that I’m an only child. Well done to all. Go – enjoy!

Jenny Gammon


Do not miss Pelican Daughters. Beautifully cast. Clever and hilarious script. Really smart and affecting direction. It has everything. A joyous night out. Sorry I couldn’t stay to congratulate everyone involved. Thought the performances were wonderful. I hope I get to tell you all that in person.

Bryon Fear


Last of the Pelican Daughters is a tour de force. Perfect casting, excellent direction, Han Evans has a style and is one to watch.

BOOK NOW!!!

Chaz Doyle


I notice that there are still lots of tickets available for Pelican Daughters and there really shouldn't be. It's an often hilarious play about the strangeness of family dynamics, performed with utter conviction by a brilliantly cast group of actors. There's so much attention to detail, from Mother Pelican's terrible pink ragged walls, to the bedroom with the afghan on the bed, to the way that the sisters feel obliged to act the roles they have played with each other all their lives. No-one is entirely likeable, except perhaps the slightly hapless Derren, but you feel for them in all their complexity. I don't say this often but this is really not one to miss.

Lisa Thomas


Go see pelican daughters!! Just do it. Well done all involved!

Lily Ann Green Coleman


Thoroughly enjoyed Pelicans tonight. Tight seamless performances by all, lighting, sound, props and projections all excellent. Hannah Evans your direction was superb. Cast and crew deserve full audiences it’s a wonderful show.

Kay George


What she said! Really enjoyed this show, it was so well produced and a joy to watch. Great to have a cast so well in tune, both old and new faces doing really well in such a great ensemble piece. Props to Han Evans for bringing this great play to SLT. Go see it!

Christine Theopilus


Not one to miss. Very, very funny, engaging, great performances. Excellent all round. Well done to Han and the team.

Simon Gleisner


Thanks to all the Pelican people. I really enjoyed it. Wasn't expecting it to be so funny, and the characters were so good.

Fabulous piece. Xx

Janine Wunsche


Pelican Daughters was fantastic. At the final bow found myself wanting to spend more time in that world - all the characters and their relationships were so expertly fleshed out. Thrilled it's got full houses for the final nights. Well done Han and Tom.

Daniel Kelly


A thoroughly splendid show - I was captivated from the outset by the inventiveness, humour, strong characterisation and story-telling. Just brilliant.

Of course I also loved the eclectic sound track, with judicious intertwining of classical symphonic movements with the hits of the day. Huge congrats to Han, Tom, and all the cast especially Granny.

Helen Jones


I had such a fantastic time watching this last night: thank you Pelicans

Jenny McLaughlin


Pelican Daughters was FAN-BLOODY-TASTIC. Well done all involved. Top quality that one was!!

David Chappell

Gallery

Find more show photos here

Reminiscences and Anecdotes

Members are encouraged to write about their experiences of working on or seeing this production. Please leave your name. Anonymous entries may be deleted.


Backstage wisdom

A line from the play "We're Pelicans, not Pelican'ts", was set backstage

Wisdom from Rosemary Pelican mentioned in the play: "We're Pelicans, not Pelican'ts", was set backstage.

Changing the script

The script originally contained the line

"And the Queen looks like this. Look at how f---ing old she is.".

Owing to the death of Elizabeth II during the rehearsal period, the back half of the line was cut and start included unedited to refer to a projection of Charles III.

See Also

Have there been other SLT productions of this play? Link to them here.

Or add anything that is related within this site. The author's page for instance or other plays with a similar theme.

References

External Links

SLT podcast - Han Evans discusses the play

This play on Wardrobe Ensemble's website

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