Who Are You?

This home-grown production, written and directed by Lee Farley, covered every topic imaginable that is currently impacting everyone, but with specific emphasis on the effects it is having on our younger generation and the pressures and anxiety this brings with it. Climate Change or I should say ‘not change but emergency’, which was stressed throughout the play, was just one of the topics covered; there was also parental bullying, gender uncertainty, young carer responsibilities, peer pressure and general angst at just being young.

The more mature cast members played the parents and teachers with their own set of problems including relationship breakdowns, job related pressures and the expectation that their children will do and like the same things as they do. To say that this was a thought-provoking production, really is an understatement!

It was not a pleasurable occasion but a very clever look into the future, I fear, where our youngsters will stop being children as they are become more and more indoctrinated into the ever emerging ‘right’ way to think and behave to save our planet.

All of this was portrayed by an incredibly talented cast of youngsters who were able to use other talents during the production. Yuvraj is an exceptionally good guitarist whose short burst of ‘Sweet Child of Mine’, left me wanting more. Yuvraj, Libby, James, Lucy, Ava, Martha, Gracie and Juliette acted with a maturity and great understanding of the subject matter and, considering it was the opening night, a pace that would be the envy of any society. The relaxed interaction with each other and the parent/teacher actors was nice to see and above all, believable.

The same can be said for the afore mentioned adult actors who, though varied, expressed themselves brilliantly. The ‘teachers’ had a real bond and I loved the dialogue between Sue Jago as Mrs. Townsend and Gill Young as Mrs. Lomas, funny yet poignant. I felt for Philippa Charlesworth’s character Mrs. Boyle who, having taken over the Headship, missed her relationship with her friends and disliked the way that she had to make the difficult decisions that hurt the Art Club leader Miss Watson, played by Alison Reeves  who portrayed a real empathy with the young cast members. Claire Farley, Alex Lake, Luke Harris and Yasmin Taylor-Haroun playing the parents had my sympathy and frustration in equal measures which proved how well they came across.

There were some moments when I lost dialogue which was a shame. Some of the younger members talked so fast that I couldn’t always make out what they were saying and the sound effects, including the background music, drowned some of the story line, something to bear in mind for future productions maybe.

The set was well thought out with three working doors and some crates that were moved by the actors to set each vignette in a completely unobtrusive manner. Lighting effects were great too. A great deal of content was put into this play and there were a few moments throughout, in the dream scenes particularly, when, we the audience, were expected to work out what was going on, unfortunately sometimes this did confuse me but I thought it was am amazing production. Well done to everyone involved.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.