Daisy Pulls It Off
★★★★☆ Spiffing
Hill St Theatre: Mon 27 Apr – Fri 1 May 2026
Review by Hugh Simpson
Daisy Pulls It Off, from The Grads at Hill Street Theatre, is as frothy as ginger beer and hugely entertaining.
Denise Deegan’s 1983 comedy is a light-hearted spoof of those stories by the likes of Angela Brazil set in girls’ boarding schools, that were so popular in the first half of the last century. The genre is less ripe for parody now that it has largely faded from view, with its descendants in the stories of Enid Blyton just about clinging on.
If modern audiences are familiar with the setting, it is likely to be from Harry Potter; it must be said that Hogwarts does owe a great deal to the stories being spoofed here.
Hilary Davies (Miss Gibson) and the cast of Daisy Pulls it Off. Pic: Robin Mair.
The story of Daisy, Grangewood School’s first scholarship pupil, overcoming bullying and snobbery to conquer Latin and hockey, is great fun – although it undoubtedly goes on too long. The midnight feasts, sending to Coventry, suspicious foreign types, treasure hunts and thrilling clifftop rescues are all very well, but after a couple of hours the relentless jollity becomes wearing.
The Grads’ production does have the necessary energy and pizzazz to sustain it, however, and a jolly good time is guaranteed for all. The central character of Daisy is a thoroughly decent sort, even if she does lack money and the apparently inherent moral advantages that brings.
effective
This does mean that the character has less opportunity for humour than the others, but Ruth Murphy’s performance has a wide-eyed ingenuousness that is very effective. Adelle Ansara’s ebullience as her friend Trixie provides a clever contrast, making their friendship a solid centre to the play.
Another highly impressive double act is provided by Cora James and Lucy Carter-Abel as the bullies Sybil and Monica. James is simply frightful in her snobbishness, while Carter-Abel’s fawning and eye-rolling are a treat.
Lucy Carter-Abel and Cora James as the bullies Monica and Sybil. Pic: Robin Mair.
Esther Gilvray and Diane Waugh are similarly spiffing as the prefects, with Alyson Topping and Aisling Walsh providing strong support as the other pupils.
The older characters are also played with due care. Hilary Spiers has an icy aloofness as Miss Granville, Hilary Davies is suitably forbidding as the Head, Paul Arendt is enigmatic as Mr Scoblowski, and Nathaniel Forsyth’s mysterious Mr Thompson is another successful characterisation.
sensitive and imaginative
Kate Stephenson’s direction is sensitive and imaginative; excellent use is made of a space at the top of Hill Street that is not necessarily designed for theatre, but whose own brand of antique panelling and inscrutable inscriptions works excellently as an old boarding school. There are some remarkably inventive sequences, notably the train and clifftop settings, and scene changes are handled briskly.
Zander Nisbet’s light and sound help to create the atmosphere, although teething troubles did lead to a number of misplaced cues on the first night.
Ruth Murphy as Daisy. Pic: Robin Mair.
The fact that the subject matter is now rather alien to most does make for some problems. The satire of the piece is also somewhat toothless; the writing often appears to be celebrating what it is sending up, and the ending does appear to reinforce the status quo rather than undermine it.
This all means that the play can come across as a peculiarly written drama rather than a spoof; this can be remedied by really leaning into the ridiculous elements. On this occasion, there is perhaps a shade too much delicacy, when this is one of those plays where there really isn’t such a thing as ‘too big’.
It’s all topping fun, however, and top-hole entertainment. Hurrah!
Running time: Two hours and 30 minutes (including one interval).
Hill Street Theatre, 19 Hill St, EH2 3JP
Monday 27 April – Friday 1 May 2026
Daily at 7.30 pm
Tickets and details: Book here.
The Grads website: theegtg.com
Facebook: @edingrads
Instagram: @edingrads
Adelle Ansara as Trixie. Pic: Robin Mair.
Diane Waugh, Esther Gilvray and Alyson Topping. Pic: Robin Mair.
Paul Arendt. Pic: Robin Mair.
ENDS
