Girls Like That

Nuffield Theatre, Southampton

THIS brilliant new play, written by Evan Placey, Creative Writing Fellow at Southampton University, won the award for Best Play for Young Audiences at the Writers’ Guild 2014.

Yet although the work is about young people, its appeal is for everyone, as the characters develop from five-year-olds on their first day at school to middle-aged people at their school reunion.

This hugely enjoyable play is tight, pacy, and extremely thought-provoking – at times tender and revealing, at other times physically and emotionally vicious.

It powerfully explores the effects of gender stereotyping, and the often grim pressures of living in today’s shallow and terrifying digital society.

The production effectively conveys the dangerous delights of texting and sexting through clear overhead visuals and hooky contemporary pop music.

The stylish narrative questions how generations of brave women who fought for their rights, votes, and equality, could produce such cruel and judgemental daughters.

Although the quality of the acting is stunningly mesmeric, unfortunately in this 90-minute-without-an-interval version all the characters – including the pivotal males – are played by girls. And that just doesn’t work.

Given that this sparkling, important, and entertaining play was completely sold-out across all performances, with a waiting list, why was it not staged in the Nuffield Main House with its comfortable seating, perfect acoustics and flawless sight-lines?

Relegated to the cramped, uncomfortable and obstructive Nuffield Studio, this lively and expansive show suffered un-necessarily.

Brendan McCusker