Writer: Lucy Roslyn
Director: Josh Roche
Inspired by the 1922 novella Old Maids by Edith Wharton, Pennyroyal is a tender story about two sisters, each with their own grief, trying to make their way through life as best as they can. One sister is diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Insufficiency at the age of 19, while the other comes back home from university to support her. Are they destined to become Wharton’s titular old maids?
Having Premature Ovarian Insufficiency means that Daphne goes into a kind of menopause before she has even reached the age of 20. She had never really thought about whether she wanted children later on in life but now that the choice has been removed she wants to prepare for the future. Her sister Christine offers to be egg donor, and 15 of her eggs are stored and frozen in case Daphne ever decides that she wants children.
But the diagnosis affects Daphne in other ways too. She travels the world while worrying that her libido will disappear, perhaps trying to avoid the truth of her condition. This is where the play shifts perspective and no longer is Daphne the focus of Lucy Roslyn’s play. Christine stays at home with their mother; she drops out of university and sets up a gardening business. She seems fragile and a life of loneliness beckons.
Over 80 minutes, we dip into the lives of the two sisters as their relationship ebbs and flows. There is a pleasant intimate feel to the acting, and Josh Roche’s direction is unfussy, bringing the audience into the story. Madison Clare gives Daphne a stubbornness and a courage that is not always easy to watch, and it is encouraging to see her as a fully complex character, who is not only defined by her condition. However, Christine is easier to like, and played by Roslyn herself, she is a figure that is edged with tragedy and secrets. Sitting in one of the two orange armchairs, she often looks stranded despite her upbeat manner.
Despite Hugh Sheehan’s evocative mournful music, Pennyroyal, named after a poisonous type of mint, is never as dark as it could be, but perhaps that is the point. Indeed, pennyroyal is known for its healing properties too. The end is a little confusing and there could be a clearer explanation of Christine’s final request. This part is rushed through as if Roslyn presumes the audience will fully understand the reasons for Christine’s question. But otherwise Roslyn’s writing is assured, and her play is a bittersweet delight.
Runs until 6 August 2022
