Girls Like That will shortly kick-start the new season at the Blue Box Theatre. Director Polly March talks to Jo Caruana about this ambitious piece.
The online world is a complete minefield. Scams, swindlers and nutters hide behind computers from as close by as next door and as far away as outer Mongolia, each with an agenda that can become so skewed thanks to the loss of face-to-face contact.
As adults, we strive to develop the skills needed to meander through this lawless land. We learn to check and double check when it comes to verifying information, and become guarded as to the people we share our information with. It takes time, expertise and understanding to keep ourselves safe and our privacy protected and, still, some things can slip through the net.
What, then, of the young people who also have to work this uncontrollable system? Who makes the rules for them when they’re still finding their feet and growing up on screen?
“Girls Like That addresses that question and many others related to cyber society,” says director Polly March, who is kickstarting Masquerade’s theatre season with this dynamic, thought-provoking, in-the-round production at the Blue Box. “It is a sort-of morality play, wherein each character has to find her path through a very challenging situation, both collectively with her group of friends and as an individual. Its content is certainly very current.”
The play tells the story of a group of girls who’ve been friends since they were five-years-old, and are still together at 16. But then disaster strikes – a photo of one of them, naked, goes viral at their school and, instead of supporting her and standing by her, the pack turns on her and pulls her apart.
“In doing so, they reveal their own worst fears and anxieties, but find it is safer to be part of the pack than to stand up against it,” Polly says, explaining that the play uses flashbacks and flash-forwards to show the girls when they are five, eight, 12 and 45 years old. “You know that old phrase ‘remember, if you point a finger at someone, there are four fingers pointing back at you’? Well, this certainly becomes true as you watch the outworking of this story.”
The show’s underlying message is all about the importance of being aware of the consequences of your actions and the terrifying possibilities that can arise through the irresponsible use of social media
In fact, the show’s underlying message is all about the importance of being aware of the consequences of your actions and the terrifying possibilities that can arise through the irresponsible use of social media. “Young people are under pressure in ways they never have been before and they have so few, if any, weapons to deal with that pressure. I believe this is an important message to get out there,” says the director.
Thus, the show has huge immediacy and relevance. After all, there is probably no one under 20 who hasn’t suffered, to some degree, from some form of cyber-bullying. “I find that fact very, very scary. Working on this play has truly opened my eyes to what it’s like to live so much of your life online. It has been fascinating to hear of the girls’ experiences, and those of their friends, but, unfortunately, the reality isn’t good.”
With that in mind, there’s actually lot of sad truth to the piece. Playwright Evan Placey was inspired by the story of a young Canadian girl, who, suffering the same kind of bullying, posted a video on Youtube asking ‘why?’ In it she held a series of cards with short sentences on them but never showed her face. “Two hours later she was dead,” Polly says. “It’s very sobering.”
The show is no walk in the park to produce, not least because of its large cast. In fact, while March knew she wanted to be part of the piece from the moment she read it a few years ago, she also knew it would be challenging to find a company to take it on. “Bravely, Masquerade chose to do so,” she smiles. “And, of course, it fits perfectly with their ethos of working with young people and educating through art. I think it’s vital that our theatres present the sort of work that can ask difficult questions and make its audiences thing.”
Finally, the director explains that, while she’s never worked with a company of such young women before, she is really enjoying the experience. “I have to say that these girls are not girls like that!” she stresses. “They have been hugely supportive of the various methods I have tried to use when working through the piece. My watchwords are always ‘tell the truth’, ‘tell the story’ and ‘be generous’. It sounds simplistic but is so very hard to achieve, and they are doing their absolute utmost to adhere to them.
“After all, it’s a very simple piece – no set, no props; just the girls, their fears, their passions and their dreams. It will be interesting to see how our audiences judge the final piece and, of course, judge the characters within it,” the director concludes.
Girls Like That runs between September 23 and October 2 at M Space, Bluebox, Msida. Tickets are available online.
www.bluebox.com.mt