Sticks and Stones
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| Review in The Stage | |
‘This is a piece of theatre taken right into the heart of where it matters. Reveal Theatre Company’s new play about bullying is devised by the cast and plays to an audience of schoolchildren who have spent the morning discussing bullying in the abstract. Now they are confronted with bully and victim in the flesh. It is a deceptively simple piece. There is Natalie the bully, pert, cool and full of attitude as she flicks her pony-tail. |
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| 'There is Sara, the victim, plain and nice and untrendy. There is James, piggy in the middle. The subtle thing is how the audience at first visibly sides with the bully because she is clever and popular and can get cheap laughs. Shame follows then when the inevitable happens and bullying that begins with whispers and taunts ends in a shocking physical assault in the toilets. | |
'They play it in the round with half a dozen tea chests for props, using a sequence of confrontational situations that show who is getting the upper hand. Replays of the events show the situation in a different light with a different perspective on bully and victim and witness, plus some oral evidence that can be quite chilling. Red lighting is used very effectively for violence in slow motion.
'Yet it manages to be great fun too, teasing with all the traits and contemporary language and influences of the age group. The lessons are crystal clear, and the involvement of the children is total. Such exposed theatre is a very powerful tool.’
Pat Ashworth, The Stage, Thursday 28 October 2004
