In the golden age of perfect housewives and manicured lawns, five women break through this publicised lie to bring awareness to the dark sides of womanhood. The Gardening Club is a new pop-rock musical based in 1960 Georgia USA, where a group of women form a secret drug ring to distribute the birth control pill illegally, using a gardening club as a cover-up. A fiery journalist, a brave nurse, the cookiecutter housewife, and two teenage sisters join forces to do whatever it takes to help the women of Savannah.
This musical is in quite its infancy but is already making waves. Covering topics that are just as relevant today as they were back in 1960 when women didn’t have rights to abortion or birth control pills (unless married and approved by the family doctor).
This new musical, created by Carleigh McRitchie and Bella Wright and produced by Nowhere Girls Theatre in Association with Belinda Matthews started at the Ed Fringe in 2024 and has now been brought to the New Wimbledon Studio Theatre. It’s sold out! There is now an additional date in the theatre’s main house!
Unfortunately the set still looks as though it’s at an Ed Fringe venue and could be carried in and out during turn-around by the cast. The lighting is rather clunky and the sound balance isn’t great with snapping on and off for the radio mics when a song starts. The cast sound fantastic when they sing together but as recent graduates they don’t have the physical development and maturity to play some of the roles, making it feel rather college showcase rather than a professionally constructed production. It’s not the cast that are the problem, they’re great and very talented, it’s just the casting of some of the roles.
But having said that, oh my, the music, the story and the songs are absolutely superb! It’s a beautiful musical full of heart, passion and a vital story that should be told. The pace is spot-on and the 2 hours just flew along! It’s tackling incredibly modern issues that resonate now, loudly, glaringly – despite the fact that it’s based on lifestyles and challenges facing society in the 60s! Roe vs Wade in the US was a turning point for women’s rights making it a federal decision to allow abortions in the US – sadly that later got over-turned allowing states to ban abortions with the steady march to fascism that we’re now seeing in the USA.
Every theatre-goer should see this piece – but sadly you can’t because the entire run has sold out!
This is a 5 star show in the making. I have to review the show I saw, as it is now, and right now the production values are not there. If the review was for potential then it would be 5 Stars. Just needs a producer like Kenny Wax to pick it up and give it a polish! I hope one of his representatives sees this production! It is definitely on a journey to that 5 Star Review!
Ticket link: Click here
Click here for the digital programme:
Founded by McRitchie and Wright in 2024, Nowhere Girls Theatre stands at the intersection between art and advocacy. Dedicated to breaking taboos, the duo sparks conversation around sex positivity and gender equality through music and live
theatre — most notably in their debut work, The Gardening Club.
Nowhere Girls Theatre serves as a platform to encourage women and non-binary artists to be unapologetically loud and take up space! We reclaim “nowhere girl” for those who have been pushed to the margins — the unheard, the unseen, and the unafraid. Our company amplifies voices long silenced, creating a community where every story demands to be heard and every voice fuels change.