If loving horses was a religion, this would be an essential (if quite strange) gospel.
All the Fraudulent Horse Girls, currently playing at the Old Fitz Theatre, brings the fanaticism of equine appreciation to the stage. As the first production of the Old Fitz’ New Works Festival, the play is a surreal, comic, and bizarre show which is delightful in its oddity. Offering plenty to horse-people and non horse-people alike, it is a fascinating foray into what can happen when we embrace our weirdness.
All the Fraudulent Horse Girls bills itself as a ‘love letter to weird kids’. In this instance the weird kid is Audrey (Shirong Wu), an 11-year-old with an obsession – nay, addiction – to horses (despite having never ridden one). Much of the play is devoted to exploring this addiction, from detailing her enthusiasm for The Saddle Club to her rejection of fellow horse girls at her primary school for not being ‘actual’ horse girls. The play’s latter half deviates from this premise and into a strange storyline about a cowboy from the American Wild West. This is tenuously linked to Audrey under the premise that all horse girls can telepathically communicate with one another.
Performances from Wu and Janet Anderson (who plays a variety of characters, although most notably the aforementioned cowboy) are stunning. The script by Michael Louis Kennedy consists almost entirely of monologues that these two deliver, with little breaks between plot elements and punchlines. Yet both navigate these strongly. Wu captures Audrey’s stream-of-consciousness style monologues well, ranting away about the girls who bully her, her horse-themed stuff, and her telepathic abilities exactly as an 11-year-old would. Anderson plays up the surreal nature of her main role’s storyline with a comical Southern accent, sharp comedic timing, and utter devotion to character. Though there are moments when the stories move too fast to follow, Wu and Anderson always keep the audience engaged, interested, and laughing.
The script itself is also strong. It is replete with unexpected pop culture references and makes light of not just the craziness of horse girls, but the craziness of horse appreciation, school friendships, 1800s America, and more. Regular moments where the fourth wall is broken are also clever, and help the play give off an unserious, lighthearted mood.
Jess Arthur‘s direction is quirky. An excessive use of mimed galloping, a peculiar dance number, and a moment when the cast drop character to bring props on stage add a sense of weirdness to the performance. There’s no way those decisions should work, but they often do. They reinforce the idea that the show is a weird one, and become highly memorable as a result. Although not every decision is successful – most notably the inclusions of a prologue and epilogue that aren’t really relevant to any other part of the show – there are still more hits than misses.
Ultimately, All The Fraudulent Horse Girls brings all of its elements together to tell a story well. With outstanding performances, a very funny script, and smart direction, it is a very strong way to start the Old Fitz’ New Works Festival.
