“Impressively staged, but ultimately disappointing”
The Diary of a Teenage Girl is based on the acclaimed graphic novel by Phoebe Gloeckner. Now the thing with graphic novels is the author not only provides the words but also the pictures to allow the reader to interpret the storyline in their own way, yet providing them with the basic look of the characters and settings.
The concept of a graphic novel is therefore much harder to translate into a stage work than say just a novel on its own. Steer away too much from the artist’s original character led drawings and you risk losing fan base. Stick too closely to them, and it’s all a little too safe and predictable. It’s a hard thing to get right.
The film of the work received mainly good reviews, but that genre allowed much more deep exploration of the characters – so whilst sticking to Gloeckner’s original look and feel of 1970s San Francisco, it managed to add an extra dimension making it gritty and real.
The show at the Southwark Playhouse is delivered, as short scenes based around the diary entries of Minnie (Rona Morison). Minnie is only fifteen and in the throws of her sexual awakening, she flirts and ends up in a sexual relationship with Monroe (Jamie Wilkes), her mother’s on-off boyfriend. The play hints that Monroe may have instigated the relationship, but it’s clear Minnie is the one that feels strongest about it.
This could easily be a modern day tale of child abuse and grooming. Delivered as ‘comedy’ it is a little unsettling to watch at times. With her drug taking mother Charlotte (Rebecca Trehearn), oblivious to what’s happening with her daughter, this could also be interpreted as a tale of neglect.
Whilst the original novel is about the sexual awakening of Minnie, there is a lot more content in it than the play shows. This adaptation chooses to focus wholly on the sexual parts of the story and as such fails to give any real background to a lot of the scenes or give us any real in depth understanding of the characters, other than Minnie.
It is impressively staged in ‘The Little’ – a credit to the set, lighting, sound and video designers involved. The actors deliver their lines well, with Rona Morison and Jamie Wilkes being particularly impressive. But ultimately this show is just ‘OK’, rather than anything remarkable. With the content of the novel, it could have been adapted to be something much more gripping and gritty. A little disappointing.
Boundless Theatre Artistic Director Rob Drummer today announces the full company for the UK première of Natives, a new play by Glenn Waldron. Previously Company of Angels, Boundless Theatreproduces exhilarating new theatre in the UK in conversation with Europe. Drummer directs Ella Purnell (A), Fionn Whitehead (B), and Manish Gandhi (C) in the production which opens at the Southwark Playhouse on 31 March, with previews from 29 March, and runs until 22 April.
“Where are the grown-ups to do something, where are the grown-ups in this story?”
Three countries. Three teenagers. One average, life-altering day. A young man battles with feelings of love and violence. Another is stuck with the image of someone being pushed from a rooftop. And a girl must choose between her friends and her conscience.
Natives is a rallying cry to a generation of unlikely heroes and celebrates coming of age online in a chaotic world.
Glenn Waldron is a London-based playwright and writer. A former magazine editor and journalist, Glenn was Editor of i-D magazine and his feature writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, the Independent, Vogue, W magazine, and other publications. His first play Forever House premiered at the Drum, Theatre Royal Plymouth and his work has since been performed in Germany, Norway, the Netherlands and the USA. Upcoming productions include The Here And This And Now at TRP and End of the Pier at Hackney Showroom. Glenn also lectures in journalism and pop culture at the University of the Arts London.
Ella Purnell plays A. She is making her professional stage debut. She was one of Screen International Stars of Tomorrow 2010. For film, she will appear in the forthcoming Churchill, her credits include Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Never Let me Go, Maleficent, Intruders and Kick Ass 2.
Fionn Whitehead plays B. He is making his professional stage debut. He was one of Screen Internationals Stars of Tomorrow 2016. For television his credits include Him; and for film, he will appear in the forthcoming Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk and The Children Act.
Manish Gandhi plays C. He was included in the British Council’s 2016 global list of 33 cultural influencers from around the world promoting freedom and equality. For theatre his credits include Now We Are Here (Young Vic), Brown Shakespeare (Efua Theodora Sutherland Drama Studio, Legon-Accra), Rizwan (FTII, Pune), Limbo and Cock (National Centre of Performing Arts, Mumbai). For television, Rides upon the Storm, Judwa Raja and Na Bole Tum; and for film, That Transient Interval, Chai Shai Biscuits and Rizwaan.
Director – Rob Drummer
Designer – Amelia Jane Hankin
Movement – John Ross
Video Design – Cate Blanchard
Lighting – Zoe Spurr
Sound Design – Father
Boundless Theatre (formerly Company of Angels) produces exhilarating new theatre in the UK in conversation with Europe. For fifteen years, they have produced and toured new plays, nationally and internationally and created projects and experiences that young adult audiences share in. They nurture and empower the next generation of visionary artists, brings plays, diverse perspectives and ideas from Europe and engage with a range of artistic forms beyond theatre-making.
Listing
Natives
29 March – 22 April
8pm Monday – Sunday
Matinee 3.30pm Saturdays and Tuesday 4th April only
