Theatre review: She Sells Sea Shells, Underbelly - Cowgate, Edinburgh
She Sells Sea Shells, Underbelly - Cowgate, Edinburgh * * * *
In Scandal and Gallow’s historical performance we learn the story of palaeontologist Mary Anning, the little girl who sold seashells, and whose fossil findings in Dorset shaped the way we understand the natural world.
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Hide AdMadeleine Skipsey’s direction is exciting and creative, and combined with Helen Eastman’s funny and direct script makes for a show that can make obscure facts about science and prehistoric life understandable and engaging. The passion that the cast have for the subject matter makes it as entertaining for a complete novice as it is for someone with a vast knowledge of dinosaurs.
If there is any message, it is about preserving the memory of the people who made our lives what they are today. Even so, it doesn’t really need a message. By shrewdly side-stepping shallow sentimentalising, She Sells Sea Shells’s slick storytelling strips the shadows from Mary Anning’s discoveries.
Until 25 August.