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the boline inn
THE HOPE THEATRE
Until DEC, 13, 2025
Directors: Marley Craze & Natasha Jobst
Writer: Eilis Mulholland with assistance from Ophelia Gourbault
Costumes: Hannah Wickman
Lighting: Lauren Marks
Set: Karina Blackhurst
Sound: Joseph Staines
Cast: Cara Dougherty, Chloe Stokes, Marley Craze, Eilis Mulholland, Grace Mia Harvey, Natasha Jobst CARA
All images © The Meadow Report
DEC, 7, 2025
There are several pressures a company faces when making its London debut. The capital has no limit of places for theatre audiences to spend a few hours being enthralled by an art form that’s as old as time. Personally, there are few theatre venues that match the legacy of The Hope Theatre, and there is no better place a new company to make its Off West End debut. The Meadow Report, a new all-female theatre company that formed during their time at LIPA, brings The Boline Inn to the Hope Theatre this December. At just under an hour, The Meadow Report pack a great deal into their bold, intriguing narrative that, at times, becomes a little overpopulated with plot and ideas. But even with some issues, the wider concept of what they’ve created is exciting and, at times, brave.
Jane, Cara Dougherty, is wandering through some woods in search of her lost uncle when she comes upon The Boline Inn, a curious guesthouse that seems to be in the middle of nowhere. After some hostile conversation with Beth and Marley Craze, Jane is introduced to the other women resident at the inn. Meg, Eilis Mulholand, Caroline, Natasha Jobst, Val, Grace Mia Harvey, and the ethereal Althea Chloe Stokes. As time goes on, Jane grows frustrated at the lack of help from the other women and feels they’ve been honest with her in what they know about his disappearance. After a confrontation with Betty, Jane finally explodes and, in the process, finds an inner power that suggests it was no accident that she came across The Boline Inn.
The first thing that hits you when you walk into The Hope Theatre for The Boline Inn is Karina Blackhurst’s set and Madonna’s music, which creates some nice vibes as everyone gets seated. The Boline Inn, written by Eilis Mulholland, is the type of theatre you want to see at a venue like The Hope Theatre. It’s not perfect, and there are some big plot issues, but these can be excused not because it’s a young company’s debut production; that would be reductive. You excuse them because the overall production has substance, and through the performances, audiences will appreciate the depth to which they’ve gone to bring their supernatural dark comedy to life.
On one of the shelves, I spotted a picture of Madonna; I thought it was Bea Arthur. The Boline Inn takes place during the 1980s, and Madonna’s music plays a central role in the production. The play by an all-female cast unpack ideas of Wicca, women, history, and perhaps the lengths they’ve had to go to simply live. To understand the power of Madonna and the impact that she had in the 1980s, you really needed to be there. The Madonna we see now is a shadow of the artist she was. In her twenties, she dominated pop music by unashamedly owning her sexuality and identity that empowered a generation of young girls and women. The Meadow Report's use of Madonna’s music adds value to the mix of women who make up the Boline Inn, and it seems that it’s Madonna and the female empowerment movement she started in the 1980s that has given them a new sense of purpose.
Though the cast are likely around the same age, the characters they play are not. Beth is the oldest. Usually sits in a comfortable chair puffing on a cigarette, offering some words of wisdom, and clearly has deep insight into some of the troubles they’re going through. This is countered by Beth, the younger, our boisterous rebel of the group. Balancing these two personalities are Val and Caroline, the Scottish duo who seem to have certainly been through the wars together. The final personality is their leader of sorts, Althea. Seeing how these women connect with Madonna is heartwarming and deeply touching. Across generations, a voice comes along that not only seems to have given their purpose additional meaning but also provides many other women with hope.
A lot of Madonna’s early music, especially from the True Blue album, explores rebellion, sex, religion, relationships, and the struggle young women face in finding their voices and place in the world. As the women of The Boline Inn dance with joy at this newfound liberation they’ve discovered through Madonna music, one feels the millennia of struggle women have gone through, and will continue to go through for them to simply live their lives without fear. Though I was initially hesitant about the subplot involving Jane’s uncle, I can see the value of his inclusion by Mullholland, and it serves two distinct narratives for the plot.
The first is a line from Althea to one of the other women along the lines of ‘She [Jane] is searching for a man in a town of women.’ I thought this line was very interesting and left a lot open to be interpreted by the audience. Was the uncle lured to the woods? And the second is the ending. There isn’t a great deal of time spent delving into the uncle’s plot; the small nuggets they offer suggest possible wider nefarious actions by the women.
Another strength of Mullholland’s text is that she never makes anything too obvious, and with six full characters with meaty roles, the narrative meanders and sometimes doesn’t always connect. It’s through Betty’s somewhat underhanded actions towards Jane that more of the plot is unpacked, and we learn that Jane’s mother is well aware of Jane’s hidden gifts but has not, so far, informed her daughter. This allows the audience to let their imagination run riot. Do the women of the Boline Inn and Jane’s family really know each other? Was there pressure being put on Jane’s mother? Was the uncle sent to The Boline Inn to try and relieve that pressure?
These are all the questions unpacked in this scene between Betty and Jane, and, if I am really honest, it is a testimony to the writing. But this is a double-edged sword in a way, as the show runs about an hour, which makes the plot too dense, yet they manage to get it in. This is a testimony to the company's willingness to push the boundaries of its first production.
As a theatre reviewer, what I enjoy most is delving into the meanings of a play. When I heard Jane’s name for the first time, I never gave it much thought, but over the course of the play, the significance of that name began to hit home. Back in the 1960s, during the prohibition on abortion in America, an organization was set up that helped women have safe, albeit illegal, abortions. A documentary was released in 2022 called “The Janes”, and in the film they explain the reason why they chose the name Jane, they explain, was that it wasn’t a very common name in America at the time. The deep-rooted feminist core of The Boline Inn made me think of this film and the struggle women have had and continue to face in a society that is intent on keeping its control over women.
"A lot is packed into this show that could have done with an edit and certain omissions to help other aspects of the narrative breathe more easily."
There is a mix of humour, dark comedy, and happy accidents that keep the play flowing with ease. Perhaps two of the funniest moments involved Mulholland accidentally dropping a tray full of crockery, which caused an unintended jump – the somewhat subtle way she tried to clear it up added a bit of naturalism that I liked a lot. The other funny moment was when Jane mispronounced Althea’s name only to be corrected, and the look of annoyance on Stokes’s face was a picture. But outside of the final scene, the best scene, which was both funny and detailed, involved Mulholand and a phone call. When Mulholland picked up the phone, I was mortified that the prop had been placed incorrectly and really felt for Mulholland as she did the scene. And then out of nowhere, Mulholland leans into it, seemingly hamming up the ‘mistake’, which I thought was wonderfully done. It’s only with the following scene that you realize that the whole thing was scripted, which actually blew me away. To play a scene like that, as Mulholland did, that leaned heavily on it being a false mistake, isn’t easy to do; it’s like trying to cry or do slapstick on the fly.
One aspect I would have liked would have been for Caroline and Val, clearly old friends, to have had their ribbing in Gaelic. I think this would have given their characters a little extra substance. I also think it would add greatly to the supernatural elements of the play.
Co-directors Craze and Jobst have done a good job with their debut production and have brought a team that, much like The Meadow Report bring a lot of passion, drive, and commitment to their debut production, and it shows. Complicating Blackhurst set, Lauren Marks' lighting, Joseph Staines' atmospheric sound, and Hannah Wickman’s brilliantly crafted recycled, avant-garde costumes.
The Boline Inn isn’t without fault, as I mentioned. A lot is packed into this show that could have done with an edit and certain omissions to help other aspects of the narrative breathe more easily. There is a lot of coming in and out of the performance space, and the curtain that divides the room could have been utilised more. As an example of what The Meadow Report might do in the future, The Boline Inn is written with passion, care, and insight, all realised by a company that clearly has a hunger for their craft, which is exciting to witness.