After huge success at the 2023 Fringe with Crash and Burns, writer Amy Yeo returns to Gilded Balloon with Well Behaved Women, a play about three Victorian-era friends who ‘are not making history, but are making a bit of a mess of things’. This week, writer Amy Yeo expanded on the comedy’s themes of female friendship, misconceptions we have of the Victorian era, and why the Keep It Fringe Fund is so important for independent companies.
Director Hannah Rogerson has described this show as an“authentic and representative take on Victorian female friendships”. How has modern thought on the period let that idea down, and what are you hoping to accomplish by bringing audiences a take they might not expect to see?
History, for convenience, is often painted with broad strokes, and those broad strokes often tend to focus on what has traditionally been considered to “matter”. Kings and queens, wars, politics, trailblazers etc. This means often the best representation of women in the past, particularly “ordinary” women, is confined to historical fiction in which women are often falling in love and / or getting married.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a good historical political thriller, and sign me up for every period romance there is, but I did feel a bit sorry for the stories (and gals) who had slipped through the cracks.
Because they did exist, these women were out there, creating meaningful friendships, making mistakes and trying their best, much like women do today. Some of the most profound relationships of my life have been my female friendships, and I wanted to write a play that celebrated them. I hope by showing the power of these friendships I remind audiences that just because they didn’t “make history”, it doesn’t mean they weren’t important.
How, in your view, has female friendship been underserved in modern theatre? Do you feel there has been a shift in the last few years?
I often find myself frustrated at the use of the word “just” – “oh that’s just a chickflick”, “but that’s just for teenage girls”, “that’s just for women”. Somehow, there’s a narrative that art created for female audiences is of lesser value, that women and girls are a lower status audience. That’s insane!!
It’s insane for SO many reasons, more than I have the space to address here, but not least because Female-centric stories, particularly stories about female friendship are at the core of some of the most beautiful, profound and fun theatre, film and tv that has been produced.
It is as if there is an unwritten rule that society has decided that the colour pink is mutually exclusive with artistry and depth. And as a result, stories that foreground themes of female friendship have typically been overlooked.
This is why I am so excited to see the shift that’s been happening. The overwhelming success for example of the Eras Tour, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, or going back slightly further to The Fringe Success Story, Fleabag, are evidence of not only the quality artistic value of art produced for women by women, but also the commercial value of taking women audiences seriously! And unfortunately, it is probably the latter reason that is needed to change the tides!
Perhaps one day it will no longer be “just for women”, it will just be “for women” – and maybe then men could broaden their horizons and realise it may actually be for them too!
Are you excited to be back at Gilded Balloon?
Absolutely!! Gilded Balloon gave me my first proper break at Fringe back in 2023 – Katy and Karen Koren took a punt on my first ever play Crash and Burns (Gilded even came to see it in its infancy back when it was a student production at Bedlam Theatre). I couldn’t be more grateful for the support I’ve received from the Gilded team – back then and now. I simply wouldn’t be where I am now without them, so coming back feels like a chaotic but very welcome homecoming.
My fringe run in 2023 left me hooked and I immediately started working on Well Behaved Women (in fact I started scribbling notes for it while sat in the audience in the final week of Crash and Burns), and I knew then that if I would be coming back, it would only be with them!
There’s something a bit surreal about coming back – different play, same blind panic! But between my brilliant team and Gilded’s support, I couldn’t be in safer hands!
Well Behaved Women is one of this year’s recipients of the Keep It Fringe Fund. Why are opportunities like the Keep It Fringe fund so important to new work at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, both in general and for Well Behaved Women in particular?
It’s difficult to put into words how important it is. Or maybe it’s actually really simple: it’s essential, and our show wouldn’t be possible without it.
Well Behaved Women has a cast of five, an ambitious design vision, and a lot of moving parts, which is exciting artistically, but terrifying logistically. The Keep It Fringe fund gave us the breathing space to make the creative choices we wanted to make, rather than the ones we could just barely afford.
It’s not just about the money either, it’s the validation. That early backing told us, “Yes, this story matters. You’re not completely mad to try and make it happen.” That meant a lot.
The Fringe has such a rich history of being a place where you can launch yourself and your ideas in an otherwise impenetrable industry – unfortunately as costs continue to rise there is a threat that the festival itself, designed to be a launchpad and entry point, will itself become impenetrable – and what then?!
I’m so proud to be supported by a fund that exists to make the Fringe a little more accessible, a little more inclusive, and a little more like what it’s meant to be.
There have been several shows in the past fews years about “women making history”. Why is it important to also have shows about “women who make a mess”?
Because making a mess is the more honest version of most people’s lives – or at the very least it is certainly the honest version of mine.
I’ve loved the rise in platforming stories about remarkable women! They’re important and engaging and inspiring and I’m all for it! However, I think there’s a danger in only spotlighting the “extraordinary.” It quietly sends the message that you only matter if you’ve done something world-changing. Which unfortunately rules out a lot of people!
What about the women who don’t smash the system, but have managed to make it through the day without making any catastrophic life choices! The women in Well Behaved Women are trying their best. And that’s just as worthy of stage time.
I’m proud that the story we’re telling says, “these women didn’t change the world, but they still deserve to be seen.” There is brilliance to be found in everyday life, the chaos of trying your best and often failing. And it deserves to be celebrated just as much – at the very least because it is the life most people are living!
Well Behaved Women is at Gilded Balloon Patterhouse Doonstairs at 14:20 from 30 July to 25 August.
