The play starts with a teacher called Diane who is implementing the ‘healthy relationship’ curriculum to her Year 10 class. While she is teaching, Freddie (one of Diane’s former students) comes back, bringing up trouble from the past. Seven years earlier, Diane was helping Freddie deal with problems relating to his drunk father. One night Freddie had run away to Diane’s flat. Neither is sure who took advantage of whom, and the play explores what happens in this situation. It questions what consent means – is consent considered to be enough when one party is underage? Back in the present time Freddie accuses Diane of grooming him and the play revolves around what might or might not have happened that night.
In the first act the students come on stage from either side of the auditorium, which meant that the audience felt very connected to the performance. The students are being taught about ‘healthy relationships’. Alongside this, a now adult Freddie accuses Diane of sexual assault, making her incredibly uncomfortable. Marilyn Nnadebe was excellent as Diane, bringing to life her uneasy feelings.
The students as a collective did an amazing job with the difficult transition movements. Using chairs and lighting they managed to create an atmosphere of all the different and conflicting emotions that were culminating in one space.
The second act was a flash back to the night that 15 year old Freddie went to 22 year old Diane’s house. As the scene unravels we learn that they both consented to having sex, whilst both being drunk at the time. It is made clear to the audience that it was Freddie’s idea and that he willingly partook, and it makes the audience question who is in the wrong.
The lighting, music and sound throughout the play is used to show the emotions and attitudes of the students as well as to shock the audience in transitions between scenes. At times the students would sing in an informal way of portraying their emotions. I felt that by singing, a much more personal connection was made with the audience because it came from the actors and not a backing track. I found that at times the singing did distract the audience from the meaning of the previous scene.
This is a very thought-provoking performance of a very relevant topic and the National Youth Theatre did a great job of translating the message to the audience. This performance is definitely tailored to an older audience, considering its highly adult themes. Evan Placey does an excellent job in translating such a difficult topic into the theatre and onto the stage. Overall, the performance made a huge impact on the audience.
In the first act the students come on stage from either side of the auditorium, which meant that the audience felt very connected to the performance. The students are being taught about ‘healthy relationships’. Alongside this, a now adult Freddie accuses Diane of sexual assault, making her incredibly uncomfortable. Marilyn Nnadebe was excellent as Diane, bringing to life her uneasy feelings.
The students as a collective did an amazing job with the difficult transition movements. Using chairs and lighting they managed to create an atmosphere of all the different and conflicting emotions that were culminating in one space.
The second act was a flash back to the night that 15 year old Freddie went to 22 year old Diane’s house. As the scene unravels we learn that they both consented to having sex, whilst both being drunk at the time. It is made clear to the audience that it was Freddie’s idea and that he willingly partook, and it makes the audience question who is in the wrong.
The lighting, music and sound throughout the play is used to show the emotions and attitudes of the students as well as to shock the audience in transitions between scenes. At times the students would sing in an informal way of portraying their emotions. I felt that by singing, a much more personal connection was made with the audience because it came from the actors and not a backing track. I found that at times the singing did distract the audience from the meaning of the previous scene.
This is a very thought-provoking performance of a very relevant topic and the National Youth Theatre did a great job of translating the message to the audience. This performance is definitely tailored to an older audience, considering its highly adult themes. Evan Placey does an excellent job in translating such a difficult topic into the theatre and onto the stage. Overall, the performance made a huge impact on the audience.