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Guid Sisters, The

Guid Sisters, ThePhoto by Richard Campbell

Germaine Lauzon wins a million Green Shield stamps. She's in for a windfall but she can only collect her winnings by sticking each and every stamp into her saver books. Read more …

As the night wears on her kitchen fills to bursting with family, friends and neighbours eager to help Germaine (and maybe themselves). A riot ensues as this formidable group of women talk about life, the world and the men in their lives.

This 'rich, raucous and gritty' Scots version of Québécois writer Michel Tremblay's play Les Belles-Soeurs premiered at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow in 1989 and has not had a major revival since.


The critical consensus

Denoncourt’s production captures working-class heroines not in dewy-eyed, sentimental glory, but in tough, earthy and devastatingly accurate circumstances.

****(*)Andrew Latimer, TVBomb, 26/09/2012

Dunbar and her colleagues breathe a lot of life into this play, but it still doesn’t stand up on its own.

***(*)(*)James T Harding, The Scotsman, 26/09/2012

Big, exciting and vibrant.

Thom Dibdin, The Stage, 26/09/2012

Denoncourt orchestrates this mix of bitter-sweet banter, proto-rap chorales and once taboo-busting depictions of real women with a relentless gusto which all onstage grab hold of. When it comes, the explosive redistribution of wealth is a call to arms to be reckoned with.

****(*)Neil Cooper, The Herald, 27/09/2012

Denoncourt's production is undoubtedly entertaining and there's no denying the energy and commitment of the ensemble who do full justice to Bowman and Findlay's vibrant translation in several inspired set pieces.

****(*)Allan Radcliffe, The List, 27/09/2012

There’s no resisting the searing vividness of the world Tremblay creates, or the blazing energy generated by this terrific company of actors.

****(*)Joyce McMillan, 27/09/2012

Despite its heavy dose of humour and wit, The Guid Sisters at its heart is an exploration of an aspect of society which still has enormous relevance today. And as it stamps its way towards its climax, it shows that the real winners in life are those that can maintain their pride in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges.

****(*)Edinburgh Spotlight, 28/09/2012

A highly comic piece of astute social commentary full of pantomime and farce, brilliantly directed by Serge Denoncourt. The Guid Sisters wis dead guid!

****(*)Irene Brown, Edinburgh Guide, 30/09/2012

Denoncourt's revival is a superb melange of comic levity and sudden poignancy. Painted across the stage in glorious colour, it has surely made The Guid Sisters a landmark play for another generation of Scottish theatregoers.

Mark Brown, Sunday Herald, 30/09/2012

Although the play's clinically deterministic plotting is unsatisfying, this Lyceum and National Theatre of Scotland co-production is riveting.

Clare Brennan, The Observer, 30/09/2012

Despite the show’s cutting wit and abundent energy, though, by the end of the long evening there’s a sense of questions and issues having been raised but not answered.

****(*)David Kettle, The Edinburgh Reporter, 03/10/2012


Features about Guid Sisters, The

Michael Tremblay's The Guid Sisters returns to Scotland

Mark Brown, The List, 20/08/2012

Theatre preview: The Guid Sisters, Royal Lyceum Theatre

Mark Fisher, The Scotsman, 13/09/2012

Green Shield stamp winner who inspired a generation

Neil Cooper, The Herald, 20/09/2012

Where and when?

Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh from Friday September 21, 2012, until Saturday October 13, 2012. More info: www.lyceum.org.uk

King's Theatre, Glasgow from Tuesday October 23, 2012, until Saturday October 27, 2012. More info: www.theambassadors.com/kings/

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