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Gilly Gilly
The kitchen is the beating heart of every home—but for one woman summoned to an empty house, it’s also the portal to a complicated past. Forced to confront her family’s dark history or risk perpetuating it for generations to come, the woman sets out to do what her mother and grandmother before her never could. Written and performed by Olivier Award nominee Cush Jumbo (The River) and directed by Tony Award nominee Phyllida Lloyd (The Iron Lady), Gilly Gilly is a haunting and powerful new play that explores the joys and complexities that exist between parents and children—and asks just how many secrets one kitchen can hold.
Portions of this audio drama contain mature language and themes. Listener discretion is advised.
Except(s) from Darling Greatly: How The Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown, Copyright Ⓒ 2021 by Brené Brown. Used by permission of Gotham Books, and imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.
If you’ve been affected by the subject matter, these organisations can provide support:
Portions of this audio drama contain mature language and themes. Listener discretion is advised.
Except(s) from Darling Greatly: How The Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown, Copyright Ⓒ 2021 by Brené Brown. Used by permission of Gotham Books, and imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.
If you’ve been affected by the subject matter, these organisations can provide support:
Audiobook
Published September 8, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 4, 2022
Trauma Release
Review of the Audible Original audiobook edition (September 8, 2022)
I don't know about anyone else, but I have such a positive good will about Cush Jumbo's performance as lawyer Lucca Quinn in the later episodes of the TV series The Good Wife (2009-2016) and then again in the sequel series The Good Fight (2017 - ongoing, although Jumbo exited the series in 2021) that I will watch / listen to anything she performs in afterwards. I didn't even know that she was British until I caught up with some back episodes of the detective series Vera where she was one of the assistant detectives on the murder squad.
So it turns out that Jumbo has quite a long history in British theatre and film and also with Phylidda Lloyd, the director of this recent audioplay. Lloyd has had breakthrough hits with the film adaptations of Mamma Mia (2008) and The Iron Lady (2011) but also has directed experimental stagings such as an all-female Shakespeare series known as the Donmar Shakespeare Trilogy, where Jumbo apparently played Marc Anthony in the original staging but not in the final film.
Gilly Gilly is Jumbo's second own work written for theatre, following Josephine and I (2013) which mashed up the lives of iconic actress Josephine Baker with that of a modern day woman. Gilly Gilly is somewhat of a bait-and-switch. It starts out with a daughter struggling to get into her grandmother's apartment followed up with a search through the kitchen for various cooking utensils and ingredients. You think that this is going to be some sort of light-hearted intergenerational dramedy about recipes and family heritage. The recipe however isn't the supposed chicken dish of gilli-gilli or gilly-gilly* as advertised, but instead is for basic scones.
Actor/author Cush Jumbo. Image sourced from the Guardian.
It all proceeds rather fussily through the kitchen duties, until the baking process triggers memories of family abuse, not from the daughter's own past, but about her mother and a deviant grandfather protected by the grandmother. This trauma release comes along very late and feels not of a piece with the rest of the work.
Promotional image for 6 Audible Theatre releases in the Fall of 2022. Image sourced from Audible.
I listened to Gilly Gilly as part of Audible Theater's release of 6 new audio-plays in the Fall of 2022. I chose Cush Jumbo's work first due to my past positive experiences with her performances. Her performance of Gilly Gilly is certainly committed, but the overall arc of the piece felt off, with its gut-punch ending shocker following its kitchen rambles.
Other Reviews
The opinion in the review from The Guardian, September 26, 2022 is mostly equivalent to mine.
Trivia and Links
* I looked up these recipes for Chicken Adobo Gilly Gilly and Gilli Gilli before I realized that the dish had no apparent relationship to the plot of the audio-play.
Review of the Audible Original audiobook edition (September 8, 2022)
I don't know about anyone else, but I have such a positive good will about Cush Jumbo's performance as lawyer Lucca Quinn in the later episodes of the TV series The Good Wife (2009-2016) and then again in the sequel series The Good Fight (2017 - ongoing, although Jumbo exited the series in 2021) that I will watch / listen to anything she performs in afterwards. I didn't even know that she was British until I caught up with some back episodes of the detective series Vera where she was one of the assistant detectives on the murder squad.
So it turns out that Jumbo has quite a long history in British theatre and film and also with Phylidda Lloyd, the director of this recent audioplay. Lloyd has had breakthrough hits with the film adaptations of Mamma Mia (2008) and The Iron Lady (2011) but also has directed experimental stagings such as an all-female Shakespeare series known as the Donmar Shakespeare Trilogy, where Jumbo apparently played Marc Anthony in the original staging but not in the final film.
Gilly Gilly is Jumbo's second own work written for theatre, following Josephine and I (2013) which mashed up the lives of iconic actress Josephine Baker with that of a modern day woman. Gilly Gilly is somewhat of a bait-and-switch. It starts out with a daughter struggling to get into her grandmother's apartment followed up with a search through the kitchen for various cooking utensils and ingredients. You think that this is going to be some sort of light-hearted intergenerational dramedy about recipes and family heritage. The recipe however isn't the supposed chicken dish of gilli-gilli or gilly-gilly* as advertised, but instead is for basic scones.
Actor/author Cush Jumbo. Image sourced from the Guardian.
It all proceeds rather fussily through the kitchen duties, until the baking process triggers memories of family abuse, not from the daughter's own past, but about her mother and a deviant grandfather protected by the grandmother. This trauma release comes along very late and feels not of a piece with the rest of the work.
Promotional image for 6 Audible Theatre releases in the Fall of 2022. Image sourced from Audible.
I listened to Gilly Gilly as part of Audible Theater's release of 6 new audio-plays in the Fall of 2022. I chose Cush Jumbo's work first due to my past positive experiences with her performances. Her performance of Gilly Gilly is certainly committed, but the overall arc of the piece felt off, with its gut-punch ending shocker following its kitchen rambles.
Other Reviews
The opinion in the review from The Guardian, September 26, 2022 is mostly equivalent to mine.
Trivia and Links
* I looked up these recipes for Chicken Adobo Gilly Gilly and Gilli Gilli before I realized that the dish had no apparent relationship to the plot of the audio-play.
September 19, 2022
I love how they showcase trauma that happened to one person and how it can and will effect others around them if they dont address the issue properly.
January 11, 2023
Ehh, it was OK but a little weird.
March 17, 2023
*Audible audio *
Started out a bit slow and confusing but got compelling as the layers were peeled back, the family history rearing its ugly secrets.
Cush did a wonderful job narrating this, I was wishing I could have seen this in a theater too (I would have come back again).
I was glued to the story, if possible I wouldn't have left my car for work and just continued listening.
The final scenes in the kitchen were chilling and powerful, I was cheering our main girl on while giving her a hug in my mind.
Trigger warnings ⚠️
Might buy a copy of this for my audible library:)
Started out a bit slow and confusing but got compelling as the layers were peeled back, the family history rearing its ugly secrets.
Cush did a wonderful job narrating this, I was wishing I could have seen this in a theater too (I would have come back again).
I was glued to the story, if possible I wouldn't have left my car for work and just continued listening.
The final scenes in the kitchen were chilling and powerful, I was cheering our main girl on while giving her a hug in my mind.
Trigger warnings ⚠️
Might buy a copy of this for my audible library:)
September 21, 2022
The premise of this book was so good. I liked the idea that the main character was living out her mother's trauma, but I just could not get past the jarring recording. At times, I had no idea if the story was in flashback or current, as it kept jumping between without any indication of change. I also had trouble with the sound-effects. I couldn't understand if the narrator was experiencing the paranormal or if she was just hallucinating. The audiobook was short, which was one of its few redeeming qualities.
Like I said, I like the idea, I just feel like the exectuion left a lot to be desired.
Like I said, I like the idea, I just feel like the exectuion left a lot to be desired.
January 21, 2023
A short, earnest story about generational trauma. Trigger warning- the main character’s mother was sexually abused by her father and this is discussed quite frankly. It’s not graphically detailed, but it is openly discussed. I know this is a very difficult subject and it was handled with care.
That being said, this is very short and it gets a bit histrionic by the end. The narrator and writer is a well-known British actress. She’s a very competent performer, but it does get to be a bit over the top by the end.
It’s a short listen and has some important things to say about how trauma affects subsequent generations. It’s not a must listen, but you certainly won’t be wasting your time.
That being said, this is very short and it gets a bit histrionic by the end. The narrator and writer is a well-known British actress. She’s a very competent performer, but it does get to be a bit over the top by the end.
It’s a short listen and has some important things to say about how trauma affects subsequent generations. It’s not a must listen, but you certainly won’t be wasting your time.
February 2, 2023
The title details left out the important fact that the topic of this play is sexual abuse. I feel some women may be triggered if they began reading this without that knowledge.
This is a tough topic but the author handles it in a very honest yet hopeful way.
Beautifully performed.
This is a tough topic but the author handles it in a very honest yet hopeful way.
Beautifully performed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2023
This was a short read, but packed a lunch with the subject matter. At some parts, I wasn’t sure exactly what was happening but at the same time, maybe it was our main character realizing things as we did. Either way, I’m glad I listened to this.
May 4, 2023
This is a powerful story of how the trauma that came before you in your family, in this case, the childhood abuse of this adult daughter's mother, impacts the family later. The ending is very dynamic. But then there are words of hope. Great narration and sound effects.
October 28, 2022
This was short. I wasn't sure where it was going. But it was mehh. Love Cush though.
December 25, 2022
Fantastic acting, but hard to follow until the last 3rd. Triggering material. 3 stars for an amazing performance.
December 31, 2022
Powerful
January 14, 2023
Extremely good; well-written, well-voiced, moving and powerful
February 20, 2023
Not my favorite! While it had some poignant points about family abuse and trauma, it was very scatter-brained and not satisfying.
April 2, 2023
Honestly, this was executed very well. Had a lot of triggering moments but I can definitely see it from everyone's view who was hurt. Great listen.
August 24, 2023
Didn't know Cush Jumbo has written a play, let alone two. It wasn't what I'd expected, in fact it was way better! Generational trauma in a kitchen setting. How appropriate, how triggering...
November 1, 2022
A short story about the communication between generations and the complexities of the relationship between parents and children.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews