This play is written by the award winning playwright Simon Stephen and was first premiered in London back in 2009. At the time it received tremendous reviews and so I was curious to see how well directed this play by local director Laura Norman was to be portrayed.

Having never been to a play at The New Wolsey Studios I had to first navigate my way here which was not difficult. Like the main New Wolsey Theatre it is in a great location not far from Crown Street. On entering the studio, we found that the lobby area was literally crammed full of young and excited teenagers clearly here to see their friends on the stage. This was a little intimidating as I had to fight my way through to claim my tickets for the evening.

The auditorium itself was upstairs in a fairly small and basic room with wooden rafters and rows of contemporary, and I must add, very uncomfortable looking benches. The tickets were unallocated so you had to fight again to find yourself a good space to claim for the evening. The stage was very simple set with drab brown walls, two large school desks and uniformly black plastic chairs. The room was filled with loud banging music that made it very difficult to hear yourself think but it soon become clear that this was simply setting the scene for this meaty little play.

Set in a backdrop of an affluent school in Stockport seven young people plan for their futures as they prepare for their mock A level exams. The characters are all well drawn; William the self-deluded weirdo, desperate for people to like him; Lily the self-harming, possibly anorexic, worldly wide beauty. The intelligent and nerdy geek Chadwick, open to abuse by the confrontational and bullying Bennett and the gorgeous, albeit virginal ladies’ man, Nicholas. By comparison, Tanya seems almost normal in her self-righteous desire to be a good person; and Cissy who is pushed to excel by her over achieving mother, is devastated by only getting a grade B.

The lead character William is superbly played by Tom Chamberlain, as bit of a know it all type but as the scene unfolds it is clear that this is quite a complex chap that you will very much grow to love. He is instantly drawn to the new girl at school Lilly who has once again moved schools due to her father’s work. William proceeds to introduce Lilly to the rest of the group who range from being indifferent, keen to get to know her and clearly attracted to this young lady.

The tensions amongst the group are clear from the outset and these continue to increase and unfurl; this is especially seen from Bennett who in the opening scene you cannot help but like, but this is quickly turned to a distinct dislike following his raging and almost sexual attraction that he displays towards Chadwick.

The second half sees tension rise to breaking point and you know something is going to give but which character this will come from is actually a bit of a lottery. With the distinct lack of adult involvement in this play you almost fear for the characters in the tense and despairing environment. I very much felt that this play clearly brings back memories of those dark days of your own youth as you struggled to become your adult self. This play concludes beautifully by explicitly showing how one young adult’s fear for the world simple becomes too much to handle with its life shattering finale.

The whole play is thrilling rollercoaster ride into the deep dark world of youth and now that I’m a happy well rounded adult I know I wouldn’t dream of getting back on the ride through fear for my life!

Presented by the New Wolsey ~Young Company - Punk Rock

Tuesday December 4^th at The New Wolsey Studio

Attended by Gemma Lewis and Susan Lewis

Reviewed by Gemma Lewis (UCS Events Management Mature Student)

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Natalie Chaplin