REVIEW: Shakespeare Is Given A Contemporary Twist Where The Schoolyard Becomes A Kingdom IN Mike Lew's TEENAGE DICK

Thursday 20th July 2023, 7:30pm, Flight Path Theatre

Mike Lew(playwright/adaptor) reworks Shakespeare’s tragedy for a modern audience with TEENAGE DICK.  Under Dan Graham’s direction, this new work puts people with disabilities in the centre of the story in terms of both the protagonist and the artists telling the story.

TEENAGE DICK takes Shakespeare’s RICHARD III and sets it in Roselands High School, a fictional American high school with its name drawn from the War Of The Roses between the House York and the House of Lancaster.  Protagonist Richard, Duke of Gloucester and third in line to the English throne is reimagined as Richard Gloucester (Dean Nash) a 16 year old student with cerebral palsy who has held the position as Junior Class Secretary, essentially third in line to ‘power’ at the school.  Richard is incredibly smart and has a love of history and English with a tendency to inject a lot of Shakespearean language into his dialogue, further making him a target of school bullies like class president, football jock Eddie Ivy (Rocco Forrester), modelled on King Edward IV, Richard III’s eldest brother. Richard is sick of a school structure where the useless Eddie is revered and the minorities are bullied so, inspired by Miss York’s (Amy Victoria Brooks) English lesson on Machiavelli’s philosophy, he seeks to win the ‘crown’ of senior class president but like his inspiration, the path to power is paved with deception, manipulation and a Shakespearean dose of death.

Production Designer Holly-Jane Cohle, who also delivers a brilliantly bold and sassy Barbara “Buck” Buckingham , a fellow teen who has become Richard’s best friend by virtue of them sharing an understanding of what it is like to be bullied for their disabilities, has created a wonderful cartoon inspired world for Roselands High School.  Backdrops and set pieces have the bold shapes and black outlines of cartoon aesthetic while there is a delightful nod to the Archie comics with Richard’s Jughead inspired felt crown feature on his black baseball cap.  While the story is set in America, based on the accents adopted and the inclusion of a Sadie Hawkins dance, Cohle incorporates a uniform theme to run through the individualised students costumes from the girls purple tartan skirts to the boys purple ties and letterman jackets while extracurricular activities are presented with contemporary fashion choices.  From the opening scene the underlying energy of the character is clear from prim catholic conservative Clarissa Duke (Gemma Dart) to more off the wall and quirky Buck with kitty cat tights and bold accessories and Richard’s more traditional school blazer and pants uniform.

In addition to delivering a captivating performance as Richard, Dean Nash also serves as sound designer, creating a soundscape with reoccurring themes.  Any time Richard is plotting his next strategic move, expressed through exposition monologues, there is a rumbling undertone reinforcing the Machiavellian deviousness unfolding in his mind.  This is contrasted with the recorded cheers that follow the ineffectual but socially popular Eddie, reinforcing the ridiculousness of society that celebrates sporting prowess and what is deemed to be ‘good looks’ over any true social conscience or actual contribution to the betterment of society. 

Across the board, this cast is incredibly strong with each performer expressing that they really understand their character, delivering intuitive performances.  They ensure that this work is about much more than two of the characters having disabilities but rather the underlying message that society needs to see beyond these disabilities and not discount people because they are ‘different’ to people without disabilities in the same way society needs to see beyond race, gender and sexuality and any other aspect of humanity that may ‘other’ someone. 

As teacher Miss York, Amy Victoria Brooks delivers one of their strongest performances reviewed by BroadwayWorld.  As the sole voice of authority for the work they balance the need to provide leadership to their students with an air of wanting to still be liked by them, drawing inspiration from Tina Fey’s portrayal of Mean Girls character of Ms Norbury.  Gemma Dart expresses ‘second in command’ Junior Vice President and Senior President hopeful Clarissa Duke, a gender flip of Shakespeare’s George, Duke of Clarence, second in line to the throne, with a saccharine prissiness as the annoying ‘good girl’ who continuously resorts to ear piercing screams when she doesn’t get her way. As Richard’s love interest and victim of his devious manipulation Chloe Ho presents a delightfully innocent Anne Margaret, a young dancer plucked from somewhat obscurity by boys who wanted to further their own reputations.  Rocco Forrester captures the essence of every despicable bullying teen movie sports jock with hyped up ego but not much between the ears while Thom Blake presents his sycophantic sidekick with equal clarity. 

The powerhouse performances however come from Holly-Jane Cohle as Buck and Dean Nash as Richard.  Both performers fire off each other brilliantly as they express that their friendship is complex.  They ensure that Buck and Richard are seen as much more than their disabilities and that each has a different relationship with their own disability and how they choose to respond and relate.  Cohle ensures that Buck is seen as a strong character but has an underlying vulnerability which they have chosen to guard against by ignoring the truth that Eddie and the football team use them rather than actually respect them.  Nash captures Richard’s confidence and intelligence with lengthy monologues that are presented with absolute ease that makes the audience feel he is at one with the character, not simply playing a role.  He expresses a beautiful vulnerability when Anne Margaret finally sees past his disability, but he ensures this honest moment is contrasted with Richard’s underlying master plan that leaves no one undamaged.

TEENAGE DICK is a wonderfully entertaining but also enlightening piece of theatre that takes the schoolyard powerplay to a new level of complexity.  This is a wonderful introduction to performers that aren’t often seen in lead roles and it is a reminder that theatre should be more accessible and representative of the breadth of the population.

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