17th-20th October 2012
William and his fellow sixth formers stand on the edge of life, charged by the desire to live but equally contained by the structures surrounding them. The end of term is fast approaching, and an uncertain future lies ahead. Soon their Stockport grammar school will be athing of the past. They are educated and aspirational adolescents, but gradually their dislocation, disjunction and latent aggression is revealed. Contemporary, powerful and compelling, Punk Rock perfectly captures the rawness, humour and desires of young people today yet forcefully suggests that being bright and middle class offers no protection from bullying, fear, mental illness or death.
Punk Rock
by Simon Stephens
Director's Note:
We all like to look at and surround ourselves with beautiful things. yet sometimes what is just as important is to force ourselves to look and engage with those things which make society ugly. What attracted me to 'Punk Rock' was not only the superb script but the way the play directly confronts the inherent, yet often ignored, inconvenient truths within our society right now. As students, it is our duty and responsibility to address these issues with our work, regardless of how ugly their reality may seem. For this reason, 'Punk Rock' is a play which is wholly important for our generation. In a time of fierce cuts in funding for the arts we cannot afford for theatre to fall back and lose its voice. Now is the time to make a point.
But enough of why... What about how? I have a small army worth of people to thank for their time and dedication to this project and for getting it here tonight. The longer I sit here the longer the list becomes. So, the technical genius of Chorley, Joe, Vicky, Robert and 'The Rational Rock' Balchin - and all their helpers - I thank you. To the creative dynamo caroline and her team - you are all ace. To all those others whom have helped in whatever way big or small with this play I am indebted toeach one of you. To this immensely talented cast who I have had the pleasure of working with - it has been a roller-coaster and a quick one at that - but I could not have asked for more from you and you all should be so proud of what you have acheived. I like you badge. Thank you all. And then the final two, who have been their since the beginning: Grace and Sarah. I could not have asked for a more supportive and passionate production team. You have got me through the ups and downs with words of wisdom, encouragement and shed loads of biscuits along the way. And finally to you; thank you for supporting the work of this fantastic company.
Cast and Crew:
CAST
William - Jonathan England
Lilly - Charlie Steele
Chadwick - Andy Beasley
Bennett - Josh Finan
Nick - Adam Renvoize
Cissy - Amy Wells
Tanya - Sian Baxter
Lucy - Ashleigh Jones
Dr Harvey - Kevin Matthews
PRODUCTION TEAM
Director - Ollie Raggett
Producer - Grace darbyshire
Stage Manager - Sarah Sharp
CREW
Technical Officer - Dominic Corfield
Costume Design - Caroline Weston
Sound Design/Publicity - Joe Bunce
Sound Design/Sound Operator - Robert Venning
Lighting Design/ Lighting Operator - Vicky Webb
Set Design - Sarah Balchin
Makeup - Ellie Drinkwater
Photographer - Edward Prichard
Trailer - Marios Sofos
Headshots - Mary Akinyemi
Assistant Stage Managers - Ben Brunton, Isla Mackintosh, Fay Winfield, Patrick Ireland
Reviews
There seems to be an argument raging at the moment about whether theatre is truly necessary. The Government have cut Arts funding, and theatres are forced to subsidise, charge more or close. People are beginning to say that with the myriad of films and television programmes, theatre is outdated.
It takes a play like this one to challenge that view. ‘Punk Rock’ was effortless, stylish and above all packed a powerful punch straight to the jaw of every audience member. It follows William, a schoolboy, and his peers at school. William is apparently on the cusp of a breakdown from the beginning and slowly, through the events of his falling for Lily who then rejects him for Nick, and Bennett’s savage bullying of Chadwick/anyone else who happens to be around, drives him to the fierce penultimate scene where he shoots dead three of his fellow students.
One of the hallmarks of a brilliant production is to have a perfect cast. This was a play of stand-out performances across the board, from Josh Finan’s Bennett being so perfectly horrible that I had to restrain not only myself but my housemate from getting up to punch him, to Charlie Steele’s Lilly who variated between crackling fragility and outright bitchiness with ease. However a word too must go out for the quieter roles of the play – Amy Wells as Cissy delivered a character amusingly obsessed with herself, but also strangely affecting as she began to look at her horrible boyfriend a bit closer, Sian Baxter as Tanya too made her nice, friendly role believable; Adam Renvoize’s Nick was ordinary and sweet, a counterbalance for many of the characters.
The two overwhelming performances belong to Andy Beasley as Chadwick and Jonathan England as William. The former infused his dystopian lines with a tiredness of being alive, a boy burying his head in his hands looking at what humanity is doing to itself and the planet, while England’s William was jittery, on edge, rapid of speech and thought – but also very sweet and charming. He was entirely believable – to the point that when he entered with the gun, the people around me ducked, saying afterwards they were convinced the actor had snapped and was going to kill the entire audience. I don’t think there’s a better compliment an actor can ask for – but England deserved it.
Through Simon Stephen’s alarmingly brittle script, we explore these characters’ dissatisfaction with being alive, their boredom and refusal to look forward to their illustrious futures. However a script is only one element and Ollie Raggett’s masterful direction guided this happy band of actors from a disorientating and bewildering beginning to its conclusion. Credit too must be allotted to Sarah Sharp whose stage management ensured crackling, flashing scene changes and a final scene in house lights where the audience stared wide-eyed at each other. The play stayed long in the imagination, rendering bad dreams that night for many of the audience. This is what theatre is for.
9/10
-Doug Dunn, Forge Arts, October 23rd 2012
