‘Cassandra And The Boy Doll’ by Magnetic North Theatre Company brings a new element to the life of a trans person.
So often, a person’s pain and grief can be so hard to see; hard to identify. ‘Cassandra And The Boy Doll’ solves this problem by making inner turmoil tangible and visible. Cassandra fights with her own thoughts and we see her having actual verbal arguments with her ‘Boy Doll’: the constructed male identity she’s been at odds with ever since birth. Maddy Parkinson and Joseph Wilson are stirring, convincing and remarkable as Cassandra and The Boy Doll respectively.
It’s a heartbreaking story. Magnetic North have been simply triumphant in displaying the waves of emotion that someone in Cassandra’s position can endure.
When Cassandra is truly herself, it’s gorgeous. She glows. An audience of people witness the ethereal nature of being true to who you are, which is equally as vital as witnessing the distress one feels when that may not be an option.
This show captures both ends of a very complex spectrum of thoughts, feelings and emotions in the form of a cast of brilliant actors: Brodie Shelley, Ecks and Ebony Webb of course need well-deserved mentions for their ensemble roles in 'Cassandra'.
The effort put into this production is also something to marvel at. The wooden stage (built by the company themselves) added a real, raw element to the show while every single programme was an origami crane, with cast and crew information on the wings.
Big productions with thousands of audience members are great, but I believe the real essence and spirit of theatre is captured in a small space like the Powerhouse’s Graffiti Room, where the audience is as much a part of the performance as the cast.
★★★★★
