Making a quick stop in London before it heads to Edinburgh Fringe, Abbey Gillett’s new play I Dreamt You Differently is a tale about family, ambition, and expectation.
Mariella Mason (Gillett) is an aspiring pop star, recording in a hotel out in the country. When her father, Billy (Andrew Pearson-Wright), a supplier of beer mats and the like to pubs, arrives unannounced it is hard for them to be honest with each other.
The hotel room is literally chalked out with ‘bed’ and ‘balcony’ written in. The fact it has mould and no guest facilities is remarked on by Billy early on. Not a place to chase dreams.
At first, I thought Billy was a toxic ex muscling in after Mariella ignored his WhatsApp messages. There’s a lot to unpick about this dad-daughter relationship that starts with suspicion, heads into hugs and happiness, then abruptly steps back.
Mariella’s mother is absent, but Billy sees her in every look, word and movement from their daughter. There are subtle hints to Pygmalion and Trilby in Billy’s repeated reference to making Mariella a star.
There are a couple of songs showcasing Gillett’s raw talent and ability to characterise. A moment that suggests Billy’s wealth and entitlement hits and fades away.
I Dreamt You Differently could refer to Billy’s hopes for Mariella, Mariella’s dreams of stardom, their own dynamic. As it becomes clear that both are strangers to the truth and idealists at heart.
As both pursue the big time for different reasons – Billy sees pound signs while Mariella seeks a voice and a space that is hers – the play balances an awkward vein of comedy with a hard-hitting dramatic core.
I thought Gillett was very convincing as the girl who tries it all to get up the ladder. Pearson-Wright, in some ways, has the harder role of the middle-aged man driven by money but finding himself superfluous to requirements.
He may feel ‘daddy knows best’ but his little girl is now walking into her own happiness without becoming a clone of her mum in her make-up, hair or dress.
I Dreamt You Differently is directed by Elsa Strachan, who understands both the potential and limitations of the Camden People’s Theatre stage. Lucinda Plummer’s design suggests every beat of the story.
I’m giving this 4 stars.
I Dreamt You Differently is at Camden People’s Theatre until 25 Jul. It then heads to the Edinburgh Fringe – studio at C ARTS | C venues | C aquila, 5-30 Aug.
You may also wish to read my interview with Abbey Gillett and Elsa Strachan in my Edinburgh Fringe series.