I was very excited to read this collection of short student-friendly plays, as I am always eager to discover new texts that might be suitable for exploration in the classroom, as school plays, or for the scripted component at GCSE and A Level Drama. Thankfully this collection does not disappoint, and as I read, I found myself mentally casting the plays, highlighting useful monologues and noting pertinent extracts.
Rory Mullarkey has written these plays for young people, and it shows. Not because they are ‘dumbed down’ in any way, quite the opposite – the themes here are gritty and universal and there is just the right amount of bad language. They work for young people because they are written in a way that makes casting and performing them easy and accessible. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that they are therefore written for teachers and directors. There are no small parts, most of the characters are not gender specific, the cast sizes are large, but flexible, and each play is under an hour long.
Mullarkey himself comes from a military family and this influence can be felt particularly in the first two plays. On The Threshing Floor is an ensemble piece that is set in the modern day but imagines a military takeover inspired by Stalin's redistribution of private farms in the 1920s. At the heart of the story is the experience of Axford, his sister, Elstead, and a newcomer from the city, Merton – all the characters are named after either London boroughs or country villages to help foreground the divide between rural and urban. Axford and Elstead find different ways to survive their change in circumstance, from landowners to cogs in a bigger state machine, while also navigating their own teenage relationships. The hint of a love interest between Elstead and Merton adds a much-needed splash of warmth and humanity to this bleak tale. Other cast members can enjoy named roles as tradespeople, soldiers, farmworkers and the church congregation, all of whom add their differing perspectives. Throughout, Mullarkey cleverly combines humour with more sinister moments – scenes with a schoolboy, Coldred, learning by rote how The People's Government had to ‘shed the skin of corruption’, set a particularly chilling tone.
Perhaps my favourite of the three, The Grandfathers, examines the viewpoints of eight teenagers undergoing compulsory military service. While these feel like British teens in a familiar situation, the conflict is deliberately unspecified. What I most enjoyed about this play was its structure – it opens in a battle zone. Kol has been injured and is seemingly talking nonsense while his unit maintain the resistance amid gunfire and explosions. Each of the young recruits then leads a scene in which we learn more about them as an individual and it is only at end of the play that it slots together like a jigsaw puzzle and eventually Kol's ramblings make sense. Reading it is a moving and rewarding experience – as the disparate pieces begin to crystallise, we slowly recognise that the play encourages us to reflect on the true value of the individual and the collective. I can imagine students really enjoying sinking their teeth into these believable characters. A truly ensemble piece, with ample scope for physicality.
© Adobe Stock/ Trifoneko Ivan
The third play, Flood, is quite different in style and form. It was originally written to be performed by a cast of several hundred and so it feels suitably ‘epic’ in its approach and subject matter. The ‘flood’ of the title refers to the main event of the play – imagine Noah's Ark in the modern day. This is a bleak projection into a future climate change disaster. Taking inspiration from Greek Tragedy, the play opens to a chorus explaining how the world as we know it disappeared under the water. Survivors gather, following a bright light, which turns out to be a lighthouse occupied by the mysterious Nat, who has dreamt of a boat that can carry everyone to freedom. As the assembled individuals embark on this voyage of survival, we learn more about the five main characters and their experiences leading up to this event. The language, despite its elevated, rhythmic feel, is contemporary and youthful, which means that it takes on the quality of spoken word poetry. This is a play crying out for clever staging ideas and a physical theatre approach.
As a collection, these plays offer much to think about. Not only do they transport us to different worlds, but they also magnify some worrying truths about our own. Our young people cannot fail to make connections with worrying current affairs such as the fresh conflict in the Ukraine and the ongoing challenges of climate change. A useful addition to any Drama teacher's repertoire!