The original Annie Wobbler, written by Arnold Wesker in 1981 for his friend Nichola McAuliffe to perform, opened in 1983 at Birmingham Rep, and eventually ran in the West End. Now, 45 years later, Annie Wobbler (Revisited) and McAuliffe come fresh from the Edinburgh Fringe with a new version of the original play cycle with the 21st century in mind.
Annie Wobbler (Revisited) is the story of three very different women – the young student, Anna; the author Annabella; and the elderly Annie. In the original version, Annie, a geriatric without a home, opened the show with her recollections of her past, but now Anna, the anxious Gen Z graduate battling dating, beauty, and career expectations, appears first.
This play is a gift for a solo actress, who has to make many changes in appearance and costume over a 75-minute run. It is also extremely interesting to watch a metamorphosis of this sort by the same actress who created the roles nearly half a century ago. Times have changed, with the new version heavily peppered with references to ChatGPT, mobile phones, AI, online dating, selfies, and gender neutrality, but the idea of three women being visited through life is potent and precious.
These character studies are rich and believable. You may not necessarily want to have a chat with all of them, but they certainly have something to say. What is particularly striking is that although written by a man, these versions of what a woman can be are all viewed closely through the lens of a female perspective and experience. The set dressing of mannequins, Nair, make-up, and Tampax adds to this idea.
Anna’s nervousness and intent to please her insufferable boyfriend (voiced deliciously by Alex Jennings) sit well against the ageing Annie’s poignant stories and ability to still be present even in a world that increasingly leaves her irrelevant. Annabella is more of a shape-shifter, representing the cliches of what an author might wish to reveal of themselves to the public. Framed as a series of interviews (voiced by Jim Naughtie), we first meet Annabella as a woman almost afraid of her own shadow and bolstered by booze.
This Annabella then morphs into a tough Glaswegian who works out while answering questions she clearly thinks are ridiculous; the third version is more refined and thoughtful. The three Annabellas are completely incompatible and feature different life stories, accents, and personalities, but dig underneath, and it is the author and the writing that count. I’d also note that Peter Straker’s voice of the Stationmaster in Annie’s section is another lovely touch.
The lighting and sound design (Richard House, Sebastian Frost) add to the overall sense of place and time, but this is McAuliffe’s show all the way, reconnecting with a text which clearly means a lot to her, and presenting a variety of female voices in a production that starts with the hope of youth and ends with the regret of getting older.
This is a production that truly “revisits” its text and makes it relevant to now.
4 stars.
Annie Wobbler (Revisited) continues at the Finborough Theatre until 26 Sep.
Photo credits: Ella Carmen Dale
You may wish to read my interview with Nichola about the production.