BBC Radio 4, 27 February 2014
An anarchic comedy set in a tattooist's
shop, run by Anya (Indira Varma) who is at the same time trying to cope with her father Ken's (Peter Polycarpou's) failing
eyesight. One night she receives a visit from a tiny. magical creature; and it seems that her luck might change.
As with all stories of this kind, however, all is not what it seems, and Anya ends up losing her business and having
to accept colonization by the fairies.
It's significant that author Ed Harris should have situated Pixie Juice
in a tattooist's. Tattoos make indelible marks on the skin, which can only be removed through an often painful operation.
Once Anya associates with the fairies, she commits herself to an ephemeral world that contrasts starkly with her métier.
The struggle proves an unequal one, and Anya ends up by accepting the rule of a world "in which dreams are made."
Through this contrast Harris makes some trenchant points about colonization, which in its strictest sense "writes" or imposes
one world-view on another. The fact that the fairies end up victorious shows the colonized world striking back.
It has
to be said that Pixie Juice was actually great fun, especially the interactions between Anya and her father. The director
was Jonquil Panting.
