Glitter Punch is not your average teen romantic drama, it offers an entirely different spin with an unexpected twist. “Yeah, I’ve heard that one before…”, I hear you say, but this piece is so much more than your standard girl-meets-boy story. What makes this story so different from anything I’ve seen like it before is that it speaks so truly to the audience, without over glamorising. Lucy Burke has written a beautifully complex piece about 16 year old Molly who unexpectedly falls for John, and we explore their story through Molly’s thoughts, in a humorously honest and awkward manner.
It must be said that Hannah Lawrence offers a complete master class in naturalism and direct address. She outshines with her astonishing interpretation at the delicately clumsy portrayal of 16 year old Molly. You could see every single thought and every single thought interruption not only in her face but all through her body which made for a truly magnetic performance. With the harness of Burke’s writing, she effortlessly glides through the words in an awkward manner which flows through her entire body, from the nervous pulls of her zip to the scrunches in her face, without over-playing the naivety to the point where Molly could potentially come across as a twinkle-toed innocent young girl. Aside from perhaps sometimes rushing her words a little too much that some of the dialogue was missed (only very slightly at the beginning), Lawrence shows a true and honest depiction of what it is like to fall in love and ties this in with the discomfort experienced with puberty and transitioning to a woman from a girl.
It also shouldn’t be ignored that Hadley Smith’s played an excellent, if mostly silent, John. It’s not easy to be the character that is being mostly spoken about, and not speaking. Smith fills many gaps with careful movement that complement the piece very well, showing what seemed like clever illusions of Molly’s interpretations of his every movement, seeing as the story is told completely from her point of view. This meant that when Molly would speak her erratic thoughts to the audience, Smith never struggled to stay true to his mysterious yet lovable character, as if there had only been a mere second in between their last spoken dialogue with each other.
Much like the Glitter Punch that Molly describes about her feelings of love towards John, I feel as though this is a piece of fringe theatre that I will not be forgetting for a long time. A glitter bruise has been imprinted on my memory due to the sheer honesty in every aspect of this piece. I certainly will be following Some Riot Theatre to see what else they have in store for the future.
Glitter Punch is playing at Theatre N16 until 10 November. For more information and tickets, see Theatre N16 website.
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