Presented by Hills Youth Theatre Senior
Reviewed 5 June 2021
Whoever at Hills Youth Theatre Senior decided that their production this year was to be The Girl Who Was A Hundred Girls needs to be mightily congratulated!
This play is not the normal youth theatre parade of parodies, spoofs or fractured fairy tales. Finegan Kruckemeyer’s script is serious, deeply complex and deals with issues that are fairly daunting for teenagers to face, such as death, war, kidnapping and mental torment.
This style of play is incredibly difficult to capture conceptually, but directors Hayley Horton and Jethro Pidd (aided by Assistant Tutor Rory Miller-Frost) have cleverly thrown just about every acting and theatrical tool into the mix to create a masterful piece of intriguing and intelligent youth theatre. There is an acting exercise called “Filling the Space” that is used well at least twice in this production.
The entire cast, too numerous to mention one by one, brilliantly realise Horton and Pidd’s incredible vision expertly. Where teens often mumble and rush their dialogue, these performers enunciate and project. One actor does one of this reviewer’s favourite naturalistic things of turning their back on the audience, and every word is heard!
The pace of the show never falters, and Horton and Pidd have obviously taught their actors how to use pauses correctly. The cast exude confidence and trust in their directors, making this a very high quality Youth production that will remain in this reviewer’s mind for some time – for all the right reasons.
Reviewed by Brian Godfrey
Venue: Stirling Community Theatre
Season: Until 6 June 2021
Duration: approx. 80 mins (no interval)
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