Theatre Review: Remembering Molly

A St Andrews Fresher’s Drama Festival Production

27/01/23-28/01/23 The Byre Theatre, St Andrews.

Director: Wylan Wong

Producers: Jerson Lapetaje and Colm W. Boyle

Reviewed by Mariana Razina

Remembering Molly’s original script by Wylan Wong is set in a familiar academic environment. Countless cups of coffee, unwashed hair and messy relationships are symptoms of an all-consuming academic passion that Annie, played by Audrey Herrin, and Ollie, played by Jamie Cizej, feel towards Molly. Molly (Poppy Kimitris) is a whale they attempt to communicate with; she is the voice of the ocean. Their environmentalist anxiety fuse with trauma, loss, and grief.

Full immersion is the goal: the nervous typing of the laboratory is contrasted with the calm blue green of Molly’s world under the sea. As we become comfortable in the story’s footing, Jerson Lapetaje’s choreography disrupts our expectations and creates a wholly new experience. Lapetaje admits he had doubts about creating a complex choreography for amateur dancers before the show was cast, but FDF actors are most comfortable pushing their limits.

This year’s Freshers Drama Festival show Remembering Molly is a testament to why the program exists. It experiments, it unites talented people and it opens your eyes to something completely new.