Written and Lyrics by Maureen Lennon

Music and Lyrics by Anya Pearson

Co-directed by Ruby Clarke and Alex Mitchell

Tickets: £15.00 (Con. available)

From Medusa to the Harpies or Arachne, ‘monstrous’ women erupt with the autonomy and power men have feared throughout history. They’re everything little girls are told not to be: They’re loud. They’re fierce and liberated. They’re sharp and free-thinking. And now – the Furies are here to remind audiences that the classics are the most kickass and furious bolt of fearless energy audiences need. 

But don’t think for a second that award-winning theatre company Silent Roar don’t recognise the balance of fearless yet fearful. A tense and nervous energy lingers throughout Dead Girls Rising, palpable amidst the killer soundtrack from Maureen Lennon but respectful to the truth beneath the surface. Solidarity is the principal message here – a coming together of generations, genders, and thoughts to finally – truly say enough is enough – and expand on the daily strife and abuses fight through just getting to work, home, nights out, and tragically, to class. 

Helen Reuben and Angelina Chudi play Katie and Hannah, who have invertedly summoned The Furies, the Greek goddesses of vengeance (justice). Their talons and wings concealed, replaced with guitar picks, a clutch of songs, and a temper to match their namesake. And a killer name for a punk band. Consisting of Izzy Neish as Tisiphone, Rebecca Levy as Alecto, and Zoe West as Magaera, the Furies plunge the Traverse into the realms of Tartarus and back as they navigate the horrors of the endless lists of crimes and daily grievances women contend with as they navigate minefields of revenge, guilt, and violence. 

Forging an authentic friendship which has grown over the years, Reuben and Chudi are entirely believable at all moments of the script as a pair who evolve from venturing through school halls and true crime podcasts, into navigating the trenches of love in a time where the tactics of some are unsavoury, even cruel. The summoning of the furies, and their fascination with the podcasts all emerge the grisly murder of a thirteen-year-old from their school. 

Lyrically and structurally, Lennon hits the audience hard and articulately, conjuring a distinct difference in the contemporary language of the girls and the more lyrical use of the Furies – more than likely still speaking their ancient tongue. Its relevance is evident and painful, and it’s noted in the heavy hits of the punk-infused scoring of the show, and the strong and energetic deliveries from Levy, Neish, and West (West’s guitar work punctuating the Traverse sharply). 

A neon arch, often framing select moments, lifts Lizzie Leech’s effective design – spacious enough to provide room for energy to flourish, but still cramped under Adam Foley’s lighting to feel constrictive and choking at times. From the casual every day, to the leather of the Furies, Caitlyn Keaney’s costumes are at their most effective for the male characters, stalkers and abusers, wrapped in boiler suits and masks, lurking behind Leech’s broken branches and stripped trees. 

Perhaps a touch soft on the Fury touch musically, XANA’s sound reaches the mark but there’s noticeable room for a genuinely vengeful soundscape to torment and make the power these women possess clearer. Winged acupuncture for the soul, Dead Girls Rising is for the women who still walk home with keys between their fingers. It’s unapologetic and fiery, loud, and furious – It’s 2024, and it still needs to be these things to scream out amidst the lingering weight of the patriarchal fog.

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