For a spot of quality youth drama - look no further than the Brewery

12:51pm Friday 11th April 2008

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I have to say that Fugee is probably the best piece of youth drama I've seen - and I've had the pleasure of seeing plenty.

Kendal's Brewery Arts Centre's drama development officer Trish Gordon and her young Brewery Youth Theatre actors really raised the ante.

Fugee tells the tragic tale of Kojo, a 14-year-old orphan from Africa.

He sees his parents killed at the tender age of 11 and is forced into being a boy soldier.

However, his uncle gets him out of the country and he heads for British shores.

The action flicks from his present day dilemma in a city refuge - and subsequent hostel - to days in his homeland before his family was shot.

Now, he's alone in a foreign land that he fully expected to call home.

In the refuge he's befriended by Ara, from Baghdad, played with consummate ease by Natalie Morgan, and comes into contact with other displaced youngsters.

Sadly, it doesn't go well.

Without knowing Kojo's story, the British authorities class him as age disputed' (older than he claims, due mainly to having hair on his top lip) and dispassionately despatch him off to a hostel.

His mood and desperation grow darker by the day until he loses his grip on reality and murders a passer-by who Kojo, in his bewildered and frightened state, thinks is a threat.

Joe Greenwood played Kojo beautifully. He portrayed the lad's confusion, hopelessness, and frustrations at communicating in a strange country unbelievably well, creating just the right amount of emotion, never over the top.

Tom Bland, as the Dying Man, stabbed by Kojo; Rachel Thomas (Roza); Joe Jamieson (Hassan); and Josh Hawkins, in the role of Cheung, all gave accomplished and confident performances.

In fact, all the cast were polished and professional.

Subtlety was probably the crucial ingredient throughout.

Apart from the obvious hysteria in the murder scene, there was no screaming, shouting or teenage tantrums which often, for me anyway, spoil youth productions.

Underplayed I like big time, and Trish and the large ensemble hit the button spot on. It was engaging realism, but without the unpalatable gritty.

With something like 30-plus scenes, each transition was seamless.

Twenty eight players - and not once did they appear to collide with each other, even though they were more or less in the spotlight for the duration of the play.

Of course, much is down to Abi Morgan's challenging script, which was the perfect vehicle for BYT.

She has written for TV, film, radio and theatre and was commissioned to pen Fugee as part of the New Connections Festival, produced by the National Theatre.

Every year, NT commissions several 60-minute scripts geared to young actors, from the hottest playwrights in the world.

The Brewery is one of 17 theatres across the UK taking part in this year's NT festival, putting on a four-night showcase as part of New Connections from Thursday, April 17, until Sunday, April 20.

Fugee is well worth seeing and BYT performs it again on the opening night of the festival at 6pm.

Among the nine youth theatre groups playing the Brewery during the festival will be Sedbergh School, which also tackles Fugee on the Saturday (8.30pm), and Windermere St Anne's School, which performs a Mark Ravenhill play Scenes From Family Life on the Sunday, at 7pm.

All should be cracking productions!

For tickets and further information telephone the Brewery box office on 01539-725133.