Reviews: Protest by Hannah Lavery

This play is published by Methuen Drama in a series entitled ‘Plays for Young People age 11+’. It was part of the Edinburgh International Children's Festival and was first performed in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in April 2023 at Northern Stage and was directed by Natalie Ibu.

The script is relatively short at 32 pages in this edition but the parts are demanding. The cast consists of just three young girls, described as: Alice (east coast Scottish), Jade (east coast Scottish, mixed heritage Jamaican and Scottish), Chloe, English – Northumberland – mixed heritage (Scottish and Irish).

The play is set in a small community in Scotland and the script refers to Primary 7 classes which means the last year of primary school where pupils are aged 11. The play could be adapted to take place in any small community where themes of prejudice, racism, bullying, sexism and environmental issues are present.

Each girl has an ambition and a cause célèbre. Alice wants to run the final stage of the P7 relay race and is outraged that a boy is awarded this role of anchor despite the fact that Alice is the fastest runner in the school. Jade and her friend are ‘the only brown girls’ in the class and suffer racist abuse on the way home from school. Jade wants to tell people to be kind to each other and start to make posters. Chloe goes to the woods to pick up litter and hopes to improve the planet.

The three girls speak directly to the audience, explaining their family backgrounds and their relationships with parents, siblings and grandparents. Chloe's father has left and she misses him. He built her a hide from where she can watch birds and she goes there to be closer to him.

The stories are revealed gradually across five short acts, through the girls' words so that the audience perceive the injustice of their situations. They all want to change the world for the better and it takes one community meeting to do that. Jade's feelings are clear as highlighted by the last few lines of the play:

‘Hope is a superpower. It's yours and the best thing is you can give it away and not lose it. In fact, the more you give it away, the more you have.’