Imagine performing your end of year play on the prestigious Olivier stage, at The National Theatre. As part of the Connections festival, over the past six days, ten schools and youth groups have been treading the boards at one of London’s most iconic venues, each performing a completely new play penned by a professional playwright. The double-bill I was treated to consisted of a piece called Pronoun by Evan Placey, which was performed enthusiastically by Cornwall College St Austell. The work centered around gender identity as a young teen struggled to come to terms with being transgender. The second offering of the evening, was Catherine Johnson’s A Letter to Lacey a musical in which Bristolian school group, John Cabot Academy explored the concept of domestic abuse in teenage relationships.
As with many of the set texts I recall studying at school both plays were moralistic with clear educational messages. However, I couldn’t help but think that the greatest lesson that the 5,000 young people that were involved in the Connections festival across the length and breadth of the country will have take away from the project, was probably the unforgettable experience of performing on a professional stage. Both groups of young performers shone with self confidence as they commanded the space with buoyant conviction.
The evening began with Pronoun a work in which childhood sweethearts, Josh and Isabella, are busy flicking through their Lonely Planets guides planning their gap year to Thailand. One thing they haven’t prepared for however, is Isabella’s decision to become a boy called Dean. This comical love story explores: transition, hormones and tolerance. As Josh and Dean, Chris Martin and Rebecca Herrington are very strong protagonists that convey the awkward teenage interactions in a naturalistic and authentically believable manner. I also enjoyed Cornwall College St Austell’s clever use of the ensemble, for instance when a large group of students spilt the part of one teacher or doctor, with everyone of them accentuating the same gestures and echoing similar lines of speech, which comically magnified the exaggerated characteristics. Another standout performer is Chloe Bruce’s portrayal of the pair’s best friend Laura. Pronoun isn’t without it’s flaws, I personally didn’t really understand what the musical interludes added to the work, and Dean’s interaction with a anthropomorphic James Dean poster was a bizarre digression that felt out of place in an otherwise naturalistic work. That said, Cornwall College St Austell presented the complex and topical subject matter of being transgender in a mature and engaging manner.
A Letter to Lacey, tells the troubling story of Kara a naive girl who was suffered at the hands of her abusive boyfriend Reece. Two years on, and now a single mother - Kara feels compelled to write a letter warning Reece’s new girlfriend about his violent temper. The role of Kara is divided between Polly Rorison who narrates the ordeal, bright-eyed Jade Goodyear who plays a giddy and slightly ditzy younger version of Kara, and Kim Veitch who evokes the present day downtrodden manifestation of the protagonist. All three incarnations of Kara deliver emotive performances, and are strong singers. As per Catherine Johnson’s previous form with her hit Mamma Mia, A Letter to Lacey is also a musical. For me, there is something uncomfortably jarring about having upbeat all singing all dancing moments injected into a play that focuses on the idea of domestic abuse.
After the jubilant John Cabot Academy had taken their bow, new artistic director of National Theatre, Rufus Norris took to the stage, and recounted his own involvement in youth theatre at the age of just 15. Norris is clearly a champion of the next generation being exposed to the arts from as young an age as possible, experiences and opportunities such as Connections are clearly instrumental in ensuring that this tradition continues.
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