Preview: Punk Rock, The Lantern

Year 13. The school year that entire futures depend upon.
In the old library of a private grammar school, a group of pupils feel the pressure of their looming mock exams. As the tests creep disconcertingly near, the teenagers must balance the viciousness of adolescence against society’s expectations of adulthood. Under a veneer of prosperity, these intelligent, engaged and well-educated young people are beginning to crack. Inevitably, something has to give.

Bristol Old Vic Young Company present Simon Stephens’ biting political drama in their signature ensemble style later this month (The Lantern, Jan 10-13).

Here are director Lisa Gregan (Under A Cardboard Sea) and some of her talented cast to introduce the tense, febrile world of Punk Rock.

The Plot
Lisa Gregan, director
“Punk Rock is a strikingly stark window into the churning heart of a fee-paying grammar school, where intelligence is paramount and your exam results mean everything. In a society where our education system is buckling and bending amongst mounting pressure and ever-raising standards drawn against it, I was immediately drawn to Simon Stephens’ explosive text – an urgent and burgeoning story that needs to be shared.

“The text is witty, dark and, at times, disconcertingly harsh in its narrative. Playful and hostile at the same time, punk rock as a musical genre for us feels teenage, angry, determined and wild… perhaps the opposite of what an audience might imagine of a private school education! As a soundtrack to the play, it offers an insight into what it means to grow up amongst pressure – creating a damning indictment on the exam-factory culture that our education system is beginning to cultivate. It asks us: is this helping to shape our young people into the adults they truly want to become?

“This production is an exciting opportunity for us, as Bristol Old Vic Young Company, to work alongside our young actors as a tightly-knit company – enabling them to get their teeth well and truly stuck into a dark and gritty text, identifying with characters of their own age, and exploring their skills as actors and theatre makers.”

The characters
Jack Orozco Morrison plays Bennett Francis
“Bennett is, like the other characters in the play, a 17-year-old sixth-former. Within the group of characters we meet, he is the alpha-male. Confident, cocky and abrasive, he treads a fine line between playground teasing and bullying. He’s also a massive performer, constantly demanding attention from the people around him.
“When we meet him in the play, he’s struggling with his relationship with Cissy, his friendship with Nicholas – and with being stuck in Stockport. Over the course of the story, Bennett’s struggles come to a head and he takes that out on the people around him.”

Hannah Tudge plays Cissy Franks
“Cissy is Bennett’s girlfriend. She is smart and ambitious, an A-grade student who prides herself on her intelligence. Cissy allows and even defends her boyfriend Bennett’s bullying and, at times, can be cruel and patronising herself. Her strong opinions and often uncaring attitude make her a disagreeable character but this self-assured exterior hides an underlying insecurity.
“Her boyfriend pays her little attention and is abusive towards her closest friend Tanya. Her home life is complicated and her mother puts a great deal of pressure on her academic performance. She is desperate to leave Stockport and the life she has there, challenging the spoilt, stuck-up rich girl stereotype she appears to fit into.”

Oscar Adams plays Nicholas Chatman
“Nicholas is an outgoing, athletic, and hard-working student. A popular member of the group, he is often a bystander to the sometimes funny, often heated interactions that take place in a sixth form common room full of misfits. Nicholas wants to be a man, an adult – he isn’t quite there yet, but maybe falling in love will help, or maybe trying to control his friend Bennett will. You’ll have to come and find out.”

Nell O’Hara plays Lilly Cahill
“Lilly is the new girl at the school. You see her journey and the relationships she forms with each of the characters throughout the play. She comes across as very confident and cool –underneath, maybe not so much. She’s used to moving around and constantly having to fit in, so doesn’t really feel like she belongs anywhere. Lily’s arrival at the school plays a key role in the things that start to go wrong.”

Punk Rock The Lantern at Colston Hall, Jan 10-13. For more info and to book tickets, visit www.bristololdvic.org.uk/punk-rock.html

Read more: Best of Bristol 2017: Theatre