REVIEW: Girls Like That - Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School

The performance of the play coincided with a visit from a teacher from Germany- Lucia Tischmeyer. The project is organised by UK German Connections and the Educational Exchanges Office in Germany.

Lucia was particularly interested in the drama aspect of the school curriculum as it does not feature as part of the school curriculum in her school in Germany. She has kindly written the following review.

Why are you disturbing the pecking order ?

Watching the latest performance of the DHFS creative arts faculty, the audience is introduced to life at St Helen’s Girls’ School. Things start as naive and childish but things get worse as the central character, Scarlett cannot escape being the target for bullying, teasing and name-calling.

An intimate photo showing her naked is shared via smartphone and this becomes the trigger for a merciless hunt for the girl and the reason for her social suicide.

Why can’t you be just like us ?

Hatred is spreading with the feeling of threat that the girls project on to Scarlett. She is accused of being a hussy. The boys of the nearby St Margret’s School are drawn into the intrigues of the St Helen’s girls and develop into bystanders, incapable of taking any action to set facts right.

Why isn’t anybody doing anything about it ?

In a black stage space the audience gets confronted with the ultimate trapdoors of human imperfection: greed, selfishness, herd instinct, arrogance, power and discrimination. Step by step the questioning on stage gets more intense and the spectator feels not really secure in the position of watching the play from the outside. There’s no way of not being involved, either psychologically or physically feeling the mendacity of the words and the creeping cold of human emotion.

Why aren’t you making yourself heard ?

Scarlett remains silent till the end. All other females act enraged and a ferocious appetite for destruction enters the scene. Events coincide and suddenly Scarlett is missing. The consequences of their actions begin to appear to the girls when suddenly Scarlett returns to show how she has risen above the taunts to see a future free of social media oppression. An alumni reunion gives the former attackers the chance to detect their own inadequacies. But she has gone, gone in a triumph over oppression if one remains true to one’s own principles.

The current theatre production is an outstanding example for the students’ ability to surpass their personal physical and psychological realms of perception and perspective. The 32 actors from DHFS captured the essence of the play with sharp dialogues and intense body language.

The team around director Jon Parker couldn’t have staged the piece any better. A special mention should go to Rhini Townend who played Scarlett with great sensitivity and realism.

To students and staff of DHFS, congratulations on a fantastic performance.