A coming of age story like no other from Nottingham born writer Sophie Ellerby.
Following its success at the Nottingham Playhouse in January, Lit by Sophie Ellerby was shown this week as part of the High Tide Festival in London. The aim of High Tide is to fund and support plays by young writers to provide audiences with diverse and cutting-edge productions.
This was most defiantly achieved in its development of Lit, which focuses on the turmoil of a young girl from Nottingham. The play largely centers around Bex (Eve Austin), and her desperate need to be loved. At just 14 years old, she is a victim of the childcare system, being passed around foster families with no real sense of what a stable home life looks like.
As the audience arrived the theatre boomed with the sound of rap music, setting the scene for the arrival of its main character, Bex. Semi-staged, the opening scene introduces Bex and Ruth (Tiger Cohen) for the first time, sat on a bank at Holme Pierrepont. The two girls appear to be polar opposites, Bex is brash, ballsy and foul-mouthed, while Ruth is reserved, shy and soft-spoken. The two make an unlikely friendship as they both sit out on the school trip, enjoying lollipops and discussing the boys from school.
It is clear that Bex’s attitude is an act of self-protection, which Ruth indulges out of kindness and naivety. Yet despite their blossoming friendship, Bex still has one main concern, boys. Easily distracted and unenthused by school her search for a boyfriend ends in detention, where she meets the charming bad boy Dillon (Jake Lowe).
His promises of Nando's and Chinese buffet’s win over Bex, who melts at his proposal of a romantic getaway to the countryside (a caravan somewhere off the A52). But her desperation to be liked leads her into some dangerous situations. When drugs and alcohol become involved it is obvious that behind Bex’s self-assured exterior is a young girl out of her depth and in need of guidance.
This needed advice is somewhat found in a friendship with Ruth’s father. A confused Bex relies on his kindness when her own home life becomes disrupted yet again. But lines become blurred as she struggles to differentiate between protection and romantic affection.
As serious as the messages in this play are, the comedic aspects were what made it such an entertaining performance. The hysterics of the audience couldn't be ignored as the ridiculousness of Bex’s one-liners persisted, the best of which being “I'm making him work for it. Got him to buy me a pack of tangfastics and a can of lilt before I showed him my tits.” These outrageous remarks teamed with Ruth’s physical comedy after a few too many ciders made for some light amongst the darkness.
The play in its entirety is a rollercoaster, with lightning fast scene changes it is easy to go from laughing to crying within minutes. But most importantly this play is a testament to Nottingham, every time there was a reference to somebody being ‘mardy' or ‘peng’ my heart filled with pride for our wonderful city. This play is an unfiltered and unapologetic look at hardship and does so with sensitivity and laughter.
If you missed it, the play is coming back for its final performance in its hometown this Wednesday as part of a double bill with a new play, Guts. The production is performed as part of the Nottingham Playhouse’s new performance festival for artists from Nottinghamshire called Playground, which runs from 2 -7 October.
LIT’s finale will take place on Wednesday 4th of October at the Neville Studio.
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