In the '60s Dobie Gray wrote a song called The In Crowd whose every line extols the virtues of being the leaders of the pack. This latest work by award winning playwright Oliver Emanuel is a morality tale told from the perspective of a foursome who are members of such a self-styled elite.
This gang of four is dressed to impress as they lead us up in memory to the big night in the calendar of their otherwise crummy school, that has the dubious claim to fame of having a goat called John Wayne as its mascot, and when they were young, cool and lovely. This big event is the end of term Prom (otherwise known as the school dance) and they are at the top of the pile of their social acceptability.
The rest of the pupils are categorised by the gang’s perceived levels of ‘drone’ status, the lowest being definitely more in with the ‘out’ crowd! Only one person is on their radar. A Peter Perfect guy whose only imperfection is a tuft of hair that sticks up “like a surprise” and who is a tabula rasa for each of their shameless desires and obsessions.
Events leading up to the Prom are revealed like a fluttering streamer among the balloons and glittery curtains on stage from the anxiety of whether “You got a date??” to the eventual horrific revelation. Time spools forward to a reunion and the anxiety becomes the fear of having to talk about suburban trivia with their fellow pupils who re-emerge in their deluded minds as ‘drones’ from their past. “Time is a bastard” says one of the gang when they see their peers in the old school hall. But it is they who have to confront their consciences as their shallowness is exposed.
The script of this particular ‘in crowd’ may have gone wrong but not so Emanuel’s. This funny, outrageous, colourfully written and tightly directed play is terrifically performed by all four of this talented young cast. It is smattered with some fine guitar accompanied songs written by Ryan Fletcher and Oliver Emanuel with the cast providing great vocals along with some grand old C & W steppin’ done in cowboy boots (at least by the women), that stand as a reminder of the US import to Scotland of the prom.
The timelines seem a bit odd, but this piece contains a strong message of the perils of messing with the “wild and hungry” internet and of a skewed self-belief.
Tue 29 Mar – Sat 2 Apr, 1pm, Fri 1 Apr, 1pm & 7pm
Age Recommendation: 14+