The Eejits!
Derry Girls follows the adventures of Erin, Michelle, Orla, Clare and, of course, the token boy, James.
The sitcom is set in Derry during the final years of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, when British Army soldiers patrolled the streets amid the conflict between mainly Protestant unionists and mainly Catholic nationalists. Across three series, we follow the gang through their teenage years, ending with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, when both sides agreed to share power.
What makes the show so remarkable is that all five of them are, in the words of its creator Lisa McGee, “eejits”. They get into the kind of scrapes every teenager does, pushing against the boundaries adults have set for them as they grow up. They always end up in a scrape or trouble. They are as Lisa McGee, the author describe them as Eejits
CHARACTERS
Erin Quinn
Erin Quinn is played by Saoirse-Monica Jackson
The show centres on Erin Quinn , who sees herself as a serious literary figure. She keeps a diary, written in a wonderfully theatrical style, in which she casts herself as a lost soul trapped in a conflict. Much to Erin’s annoyance, Orla has no qualms about reading it.
Orla McCool
– played by Louisa Harland
Erin’s cousin, Orla is dreamy, ditzy and lives in her own world, yet she is surprisingly good at exams. As Michelle says of Orla’s step aerobics routine for the school talent show, “Orla may be a dick, but she’s our dick.”
Michelle Mallon
– played by Jamie-Lee O’Donnell
Street-smart, boy-mad and quick-witted, Michelle is the source of half the gang’s questionable schemes. She is deliberately hilarious, and her big mouth often has them running from trouble she started in the first place.
Clare Devlin
– played by Nicola Coughlan
Clare is the anxious intellectual of the group and its most reluctant member. She objects to anything naughty and becomes hysterical at the thought of a scheme going wrong. In the first series, Clare comes out as a lesbian, one of the show’s most touching storylines.
James Maguire
– played by Dylan Llewellyn
Michelle’s English cousin, James attends the girls’ school because, as an English boy, he would be beaten up at the local boys’ school. Being Michelle’s cousin makes him part of the gang by default. Like Clare, he questions Michelle’s schemes, which often leave him in awkward situations, but his opinions count for nothing, even when they are the most sensible in the room. For all that, the girls are genuinely fond of him.
Links
Derry Girls Can be reviewed on Netflix
Or
In the next day or two I will add a proper review of of the show.
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