Istvan Dugalin ➤

Alexandra Floras-Matic and L.A. Sweeney in “Girls Unwanted”, Photo Jules Sherwood

Their riveting production of The Glory of Living back in May was, in retrospect, a scrappy statement of intent. For their sophomore effort, The King Black Box solidifies their commitment to raw, humanistic theatre. George F. Walker‘s Girls Unwanted is a gritty follow-up and continues the company’s probing examination of troubled women navigating trauma and systemic disadvantages, clawing for space in a world where they are simply not a priority.  

In an inner city halfway house, Hanna (Ziggy Schulting) and Kat (Alexandra Floras-Matic) seem always on the verge of killing each other. Still reeling from a history of mistreatment and hardened against the guilt of their own transgressions, they are in a constant state of defiant self-assertion. Arguably the most harrowing backstory is that of Ash (Marline Yan), who wanders around in a trance, dislodged from a reality too brutal to endure. All three negotiate their shared space under the supervision of Maddy (L.A. Sweeney) who, not having her shit completely together either, deeply identifies with her charges.

The story opens with the sudden appearance of Max (Louis Akins), Kat’s long-lost brother who urges her to now reconnect with the family that abandoned her as an infant. He’s got some struggles of his own, but he seems comically out of his element here, an earnest and guileless young man surrounded by toughened women spurning the vulnerability he brandishes like an olive branch. He does eventually get absorbed into their family.

When a former care worker is found dead, the subsequent murder investigation further complicates their dynamic and raises the stakes to a fever pitch. Of the many compelling aspects of Walker’s script, I’m particularly astonished by the genuine humour and playfulness he weaves throughout a harrowing scenario. Though often unpleasant and sometimes downright frightening, I was fully invested in each of these characters. 

In his direction, Walker invites the urgently truthful cast to inhabit the space with an authentic ease that renders each moment fully real. From Kat’s sporty facade to Ash’s whimsically festooned hair and protectively desexualizing grey sweatshirt, Madison Caan’s costumes provide insightful definition. Hanna’s dress for their police station visit is an inspired comedic flourish that just killed me. Production designer Sophie Ann Rooney fills the cozy venue with the haphazard, revealing minutiae of cohabitation. 

Walker makes especially evocative use of a back doorway and the room beyond. Perfectly integrated with the foreground action, silent moments occur through this narrow opening and complete the persuasive mise en scène.

Girls Unwanted is a thoroughly affecting production with vivid, complex characters and propelled by natural humour and pathos. The disturbing finale has an understated visceral intensity that hits hard.

Girls Unwanted
running September 5 to 29, 2024
The King Black Box (1224 King St West, 3rd floor)
running time: 90 minutes (no intermission)

Marline Yan in “Girls Unwanted”, Photo Jules Sherwood