The comedy series Derry Girls, is not a laugh-out-loud every second, but a wry and tongue-in-cheek following of a group of girls as they navigate adolescence, group dynamics, family scuffles and teenage crushes, while being blasé about unexploded bombs that block their way to school.
Derry Girls has a lot of truth to it, especially in understanding teenage life, such as in being part of a group whilst also searching for your own independence, or not as the case maybe, for as one girl states “Well, I’m not being an individual on my own” the irony of what she says lost on her, but known to the audience. The jokes being cleverly funny and more so when going over the characters’ heads.
On top of all this the series comments on a time in Northern Ireland, the creator and writer Lisa McGee pulling from her own experiences of having grown up in the show’s setting of Londonderry, or Derry, depending on your viewpoint (which the show states in its opening scene). The show’s clothing, nod to popular culture and well…attitudes, tells us that it’s the 1990s, while the accents, soldiers, IRA, bombs, and threats, show a country that’s divided into ‘us’ – in this series the Catholics, and the ‘them’ – being the Protestants. The ‘Troubles’ (violent conflict) now entering another decade of its continuance, but here its presence is more an inconvenience and given as little attention as possible, which is just what the characters do – for yes it’s part of their life, but it’s not a dominating factor, the show really wanting you to focus instead on the group of four girls, and the English boy tossed in for extra laughs, his part filling that missing gap to the group.
The main focus however is on Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), and in this you see her madcap family; the mum who cheekily winds her daughter up and is more than ready to shout out some of her own home truths, the father who seems the meeker of the lot, and the grandfather who threatens his son-in-law all the time. Then there’s Erin’s aunt and her cousin Orla (Louisa Harland), who is ditzy and dances to her own tune and makes up the ‘phoebe’ of the five-membered group. Next is Michelle (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell); boy crazy and plain crazy, who screams and shouts, gets herself stuck in situations and brings the group into the mud with her. Finally, there is Clare (Nicola Coughlan), the sweet one who has lots of ideas, but that’s it, and a good level of self-preservation e.g. she’s the one to jump ship first. Then the only boy of the group, and at the all-girls catholic school, is James (Dylan Llewellyn) who’s allowed to tag along because he’s Michelle’s cousin and because he has nowhere else to go – and so reluctant or not – he follows the group while trying to be a somewhat reasonable voice, even it’s an idiotic one.
There are many stereotypes within Derry Girls; the group’s members having similar traits to Friends, Spice Girls, Clueless and Mean Girls. But there are some new takes within this, for example their villain is a goody-two-shoes “perfect” prefect, her life used as a weapon to mock those in the group, while still maintaining a sickening look of innocence. Another spin in the series is Sister Michael (Siobhan McSweeney) – the school’s headmistress, who delivers some of the best lines and though she might be serious in her role, she’s not tight-lipped on what she thinks, and you just know you can sense her eye rolls – even as she looks you dead in the eyes.
Derry Girls – represents a group of friends that often find themselves in trouble and usually that of their own making. They’re not sweet angels; they’re back-stabbers and can easily throw each other under the bus, but in this they’re more real, as are their plenty of awkward and embarrassing moments – made worse by a similarity to your own teenage years. It’s as though you step back into the mindset of a teenager; there’s no filter and a lotta lotta swearing, (I’d advise no drinking game with this show – it’s too dangerous). Enjoyable in many ways from its plotlines, comments on the times, and its clever talks of the future – which are of course today’s present – the characters’ guesses being either way off, or right on the mark. The acting is natural, the friendships believable, while the honesty of Derry Girls is what makes it so great.
Creator: Lisa McGee
Other notable works:
- Indian Summer 2015-2016
- The White Queen 2013
- Being Human 2008-2013
