It was with some trepidation that I approached this performance. Youth theatre conjures up images of pushy upper middle class parents and their arrogant young darlings. However, this cynicism was not to find justification here. This group of 14-17 year olds has been trained by professional actor and LeftLion Forum regular 'Guy Gooberman' for a year and they all seem to have benefited greatly from it.

This production is a series of short pieces - there are a few with the whole cast on stage which are really drama school exercises rather than theatrical pieces. Each actor also performs a solo, however, giving us either an excerpt from a play or a piece they have written themselves.

Much of the self-written pieces were, perhaps predictably, rather dark and full of teenage angst, though often engaging and moving. Keresha Gayle's 'Bleed Me Dry' was particularly effective and Charlotte Clarke's 'Cured' about a cancer survivor was very interesting. A satirical piece on the fizzy drink industry by Tom Rawlins was both funny and well observed.

Of the remaining pieces, Emma Wilde's Hermione from 'The Winter's Tale' was outstanding and she shows much promise for Shakespearean roles. Jenny Sutton's excerpt from 'Billy Liar' showed a great deal of stage presence and confidence. There was also a welcome reprise from the excellent Andrew Siddons of his part of Billy from the Arts Theatre's production of Kes.

Picking out individuals for praise shouldn't detract from the fact that the whole company performed excellently, were obviously well rehearsed and confident and more importantly enjoying themselves. Expect to hear some of these names again in the future.

Youth Theatre Showcase, Nottingham Arts Theatre, 3-5 Sep 2004
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