The Many Lives of Nellie Bly

It came as something of a jolt and surprise, just how little I knew about the life of Nellie Bly. In the United States she is celebrated and revered as a pioneering investigative journalist, a champion in the advancement of women's achievements in business and industry, an inventor, and also remembered for her charity work. In 1998 she was admitted into America's 'National Women's Hall of Fame', and last year 'The Girl Puzzle', an installation by artist Amanda Matthews, was unveiled in her honour on New York's Roosevelt Island. The piece takes its name from the very first article that Bly had written for the Pittsburgh Gazette, a piece in which she argued that not all women would marry, and that what was needed were better jobs for women.
 
On Sunday night, at Norwich Arts Centre, visiting theatre group Bedivere Arts delivered an innovative, informative and entertaining performance of their  'The Many Lives of Nellie Bly', a seventy minute journey of enlightenment that put an end to my woeful ignorance, leaving me with a sense of wonder and respect at what Nellie Bly achieved in her lifetime. The piece is written by Jack Fairey, co-founder of Bevidere Arts, and is directed by Joe Malyan.
 
Laura Hannawan stars as the eponymous Ms Bly, delivering a truly stunning performance in recreating some of the key moments from the investigative journalist's incident-packed life. Alone on stage, joined only by a collection of props consisting of little more than three tailor's dummies, a cloak-stand, and a desk and chair, we are transported back to Pennsylvania in1873, where a nine year old Elizabeth Cochrane is at home reading Jules Verne's 'Around the World in 80 Days', and dreaming of her own adventures. Only when older, and when she starts writing for a newspaper, does she adopt the nom-de-plume Nellie Bly.
 
Throughout the entire performance Hannawan cleverly, and innovatively, interacts with   the props and garments retrieved from the tailor's dummies and cloak-stand, whilst recreating a series of dialogues with imaginary versions of the real-life characters that defined her life and career – her abusive stepfather, a courtroom judge, inmates at a New York asylum, and, of course the newspaper editors (and sometimes the secretaries, too) for whom she wrote.
 
It is a technically brilliant, as well as convincing, performance, and Hannawan has her audience rapt with attention from start to finish as she traverses a gamut of emotions - from desperation to humour, and from doggedness to compassion. Not only is the dialogue consistently delivered bang on cue, alongside a narrative shared with the audience, but the choreographed costume changes and use of props are all executed with perfect timing.
 
The result is an engrossing show that left me highly impressed, as well as suitably enlightened.
 
Thoroughly recommended.