Derry Girls’ Nicola Coughlan Called Out A Theatre Critic Who Keeps Commenting On Her Body In Reviews

The nation fell in love with Nicola Coughlan as the hilarious Clare on Derry Girls.

Now, the actress is playing Joyce Emily in a play called The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, a production that has received rave reviews from a number of critics.

However, one reviewer felt the need to comment on Nicola’s weight – and as it turns out, he’s done it multiple times.

Philip Fisher of the British Theatre Guide referred to Nicola’s character in Miss Jean Brodie as an “overweight little girl” in his article about the play. And in another show that Nicola was in last year, the same critic referred to her as a “fat girl”, despite the fact that it had no relevance to the review.

Nicola didn’t take this lying down, and ripped into him on Twitter:

Hi @BritTheatreGuid, for the second time your reviewer Philip Fisher has come to see a show I’m in, and as part of reviewing the show he has also reviewed my body.
How can you continue to support this? pic.twitter.com/Rtd7mVBmSA

— Nicola Coughlan (@nicolacoughlan) June 14, 2018

Philip Fisher, I know you are a theatre reviewer and your body had no relevance to your job but maybe you’d like me to cruelly review it for you and post it online?

— Nicola Coughlan (@nicolacoughlan) June 14, 2018

I was in a show called Jess and Joe Forever @traversetheatre last August which he came to see and his opening sentence was “Jess is a fat girl”
My weight has no relevance to either the performance I gave in that or in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

— Nicola Coughlan (@nicolacoughlan) June 14, 2018

Nicola also mentioned another review by the same writer in which he appears to make light of a rape scene:

As a side note, his review of Low Level Panic @OrangeTreeThtr describes a rape scene and he actress in it in this way pic.twitter.com/HvXNnS9KTj

— Nicola Coughlan (@nicolacoughlan) June 14, 2018

The British Theatre Guide has since apologised to Nicola, saying that the reviewer now “accepts that it is not acceptable to use such descriptions in a review.”

Nicola, we apologise unreservedly for the offence caused by the wording of this review. The offending words have been removed. While the reviewer may not have intended to offend, he accepts that it is not acceptable to use such descriptions in a review and not BTG policy.

— British TheatreGuide (@BritTheatreGuid) June 14, 2018

Nicola said she was “disappointed” by the publication, and the critic would not be welcome to review any more of her shows.

Philip Fisher, I know you are a theatre reviewer and your body had no relevance to your job but maybe you’d like me to cruelly review it for you and post it online? Let me state this clearly, he is not welcome to review any show I am in from now until forever. And I plan to be in a lot of damn shows.

Tags:

• derry girls
• nicola coughlan

Have your say

More like this