Review: The Boro's 37 Mins

Drawing on the writer's Middlesborough upbringing and lifelong dedication to Middlesbrough FC, The Boro's 37 Mins explores how its characters' lives reflect the misfortunes of the town, a victim of unemployment and industry closures brought about by Margaret Thatcher's government. The text is former secondary school arts practitioner Alan Spence's first published play.

Despite the title, the play spans 20 years of life in the North East. Cultural references from the 80's and 90's may go over some students' heads but are likely to get laughs from the right audience, where heavy handed modern references are more likely to be met with grimaces.

Demanding sound, lighting and projection roles coupled with a big cast of characters in the first act could make for an interesting option for a large production. Despite the rather bleak nature of the play as a whole, the script is packed with stichomythic exchanges and witty one-liners that will engage students and allow them to develop comedic timing.

There are also good monologues for students to work on, particularly Derek's display of desperation having been without a job for months. Like much of the dialogue this will provide students with real insight into a troubled time in British history.

While providing an abundance of roles, perfect for big productions, the extensive cast list and heavy reliance on slides to provide context can make the first act feel slightly bloated and lacking in focus. The plays coherence isn't necessarily helped by stylistic narration techniques throughout, however these do provide interesting singing and dance roles.

The plot becomes much more coherent in the second act, superfluous characters are left behind and the play focuses almost exclusively on the relationship between single mother Lisa and her son Sean. These two roles are by far the most prominent and challenging in the play and their dialogues are full of emotion, building to a crescendo with the play's Eastenders-esque ending.

The real variety of roles and storytelling techniques are likely to outweigh the at times cumbersome plot and make this an engaging option for GCSE students to work on, particularly those with an interest in history, politics and football.