MUST SEE: Camping at HERE Arts Center excels

An honest play and a wild ride

Molly Serenduke

It’s not every day you get a chance to see a debut world premiere by a Scottish writer who encapsulates what it’s like to be a woman. Camping, by the charismatic Victoria Lynne Barclay, is a love song for female friendships, as well as a commentary on where women are forced to hide.

The entire play takes place in a tent; Krit Robinson did a wonderful job making it feel like the audience was inside the tent with the characters, feeling every emotion, going through every life milestone alongside them. Spanning adolescence into mid-life (are 40s mid-life?), the show captures the magic of close friendships - the highs, the lows, the messy boy things, the cold shoulders, the warm embraces. It also presents two characters battling aspects of their sexuality as a result of a society that's mostly tone-deaf to the true sexual spectrum.

Starring the brilliant duo Colbie Minifie (Ari) and Alice Kremelberg (Brit), Camping tells the story of two girls-becoming-women and the ebbs and flows of their friendship - at one point, they stop talking for 8 years after a fight at a music festival, during which they both get married and have kids, only to pick up where they left off in, you guessed it, a camping tent. The incredible acting sells an already wonderful script, and the direction from the prolific Adrienne Campbell-Holt drives it home.

While there is a clear agenda with this show - each scene questions what it means to be a woman, how women are expected to cater to men, what women deal with in our confusing lives, and most importantly, how female friendships help you through each confusing moment - it is in no way didactic. One could make the argument that Camping is indulgent; I would argue that, if it is indulgent, it is well-deserved.

You should go see Camping. See it with your friends. Tell them how much they mean to you. Camping is an honest piece of writing, a strong collaboration, and an excellent use of your hard earned cash.