@ Tron Theatre, Glasgow until Sat 21 Feb 2015, and touring
The Fair Intellectual Club, the debut play by stand up comedian Lucy Porter, promises the tantalising intrigue of a real life historic secret society, where frustrated young women aged 15-19 meet to educate themselves. The pre-feminist girls club was formed in Edinburgh in 1717, and the play attempts to explore the struggles of women during the Enlightenment – the constraints of a poor dowry and the popular opinion that women shouldn’t be educated – against the backdrop of the incredible intellectualism from which they were excluded. The key idea: brains are more important than beauty and women should be respected for their substance whatever era they hail from.
We are admitted into a select candlelit gathering like a scene out of a subversive, underground Pride and Prejudice. Light-heartedly (amidst witty puns) we are introduced to the characters and the audience is drawn in as the remaining members of this 9-piece club. It is a world of teenage girls looking for more than their life’s allocation: marriage for love not money, intellectual recognition and freedom of expression. Sisterhood is tested and the secret exposed, with a generous smattering of referendum comments, anachronistic jest (“…the first rule of the Fair Intellectual Club is that thou shalt not discourse upon the Fair Intellectual Club”), and references to historical figures.
The show is fun and well thought-out, with plenty to chew over (attitudes towards the new Union and the impact of science on religious fervour, for instance). The trio of Samara MacLaren, Caroline Deyga and Jessica Harwick romp through the action with energy and style. With such a delicious premise, though, you’re left feeling that there’s so much more that can be done with the theme. There’s barely time to unpack the initial groundwork for feminism before the conclusion arrives without the chance to explore any new ideas. However, Radio 4 has commissioned a new six-part sitcom based on the characters, which may offer the chance to unravel the historic Fair Intellectual Club in all its glory.