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DRAMA & DANCE
Set in the 1960s, the play evokes the dark side of a swinging London inhabited by mobsters
Against a backdrop of gang culture, violence and contempt for the mundane, West follows the roguish anti-hero, Mike, as he prepares himself for battle. Set in the 1960s, the play evokes the dark side of a swinging London inhabited by mobsters like the Kray brothers and Litvinoff, a Jewish cockney thug who became a charismatic presence in bohemian London, and who is described as ‘a dandy of squalor’. Depicting a cycle of violence, lust and dull routine, the play is said by Berkoff to be a loose reworking of the plot of Beowulf , transported to the streets of North London, with Mike facing his own Grendel, in the form of Curly, the leader of the Hoxton mob, in single combat. This piece had the epic quality of a tale of ancient chivalry on the battlefield, yet was laced with the darkly humorous rivalry of the delinquents, with outstanding, charged and dynamic performance work from all students. The ensemble performed with fearless, slick dynamism, and plaudits must go to the cohort of Miles Camilleri, Charlie Davies, Mohau Jolobe-Pike, Flynn Laban and Arjaan Miah for navigating the pitfalls of intensive rehearsal schedules and enforced self-isolation to get this one over the line. The Year 13 ensemble laid bare the savagery implicit in the exchanges and physical confrontations, with due declamatory emphasis of the parody of Shakespearean verse, and deft synchronisation within their thrilling choreographed sequences conveying the complex and unnerving subject matter.
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