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More sex and violence: Playfight @sohotheatre

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The funny thing about three girls growing up under a tree is that you never quite know when they're being serious or just messing about. One time, they might be talking about giving blow jobs on a tennis court at school and another, they might be yearning for a connection that they can't quite explain. That's what happens in Playfight, an Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2024 hit currently showing at Soho Theatre .  Writer Julia Grogan doesn't give us much time to dwell on the lives of these three young teenage girls. One minute, they're fifteen and giggling, and then the next thing, they're off getting married or going to University. But underneath all the smutty talk, humour, and quick scene changes, there is a darker underbelly about relationships, power, and consent. It's about finding your way in a complex world that can dehumanise and degrade you. But as things move so quickly, you could blink and miss it. This is too bad as the performances capturing this co...

Girl jobs: A Hundred Words For Snow @trafstudios



There may be A Hundred Words for Snow but no words for grief and loss. Written by Tatty Hennessy, it's a funny and emotional monologue told with panache, humour and enthusiasm by Gemma Barnett. It’s currently playing at Trafalgar Studios.

When Rory’s (Gemma Barnett) dad unexpectedly dies, she discovers his diary with plans for a trip to the Arctic. So she makes a plan to get her father's ashes to the North Pole. After all, spending an eternity in an urn is not going to be much fun. So borrowing her mother's credit card she takes a flight to Norway. But things aren't what she expects. Along the way she meets a boy and finds a friend. But she also discovers how big the world can be when you're fifteen years old.

The show creates a vivid portrait of a teenage girl growing up fast. But she also captures the changing landscape of the world and a woman's place in it. There are facts about famous male explorers and geography. And how global warming is changing the world in unexpected ways.

Barnett brings the material to life with her exuberant performance. Her blank stares and bemused looks often have the audience in stitches. But she also shows the character's sadness and vulnerability which make the piece so compelling to the end.

An exciting piece of new writing by some exceptionally talented people. Directed by Lucy Jane Atkinson, A Hundred Words For Snow is downstairs at Trafalgar Studios until 30 March.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



Photos by Nick Rutter

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