Review: Be My Baby
Mary Adams is 19 years old, she works in a bank and comes from a respectable family, she’s also to her mother’s horror – PREGNANT.
Be My Baby follows the lives of four young girls sent to Mother and Baby home in the 1960s in an attempt to ‘hush-up’ their shameful predicament.
Amanda Whittington’s tale shows that it’s not just the wayward girls who find themselves in this situation. The early 60s had seen the introduction of the Contraceptive Pill in the UK, however initially it was only available to married women and therefore young girls were still getting ‘caught-out’.
All four girls are just that still girls and despite some dreaming of a life with their new baby the reality was that the most common solution was for the baby to be taken away at birth and adopted. The young mother’s then sent home having ‘learnt their lesson’.
Whittington’s tale of teenage girl’s dreams of a perfect life and romance, borne out by the idealised lyrics of girl groups such as The Dixie Cups and The Ronnettes, slowly unravel to be just that, a dream, as reality becomes much harsher.
Norma’s anguish as she struggles to accept that she will never see her baby again is a very bitter pill and very emotionally portrayed by Melina Synadinou.
The story is a social historic account of how attitudes have changed, tinged with humour and pathos and brilliantly performed by an all female cast of six budding actresses.
Be My Baby is at The New Wolsey Studio on St George’s Street, Ipswich and is an amateur production by The New Wolsey Young Company.
Runs until Saturday 20th October, tickets are going fast so book now – 01473 295900 or online www.wolseytheatre.co.uk.
Review: Mark Keable, Ipswich24