This play is hilarious and certain details make it so. Particularly the two men that play the protagonist’s 10-year-old best friends.
Amy (Claire Gaydon) is your average 10-year-old girl in Lincoln that loves Britney Spears. She has two best friends, Natalie (Yasser Zadeh) and Chloe (Alex Roberts), that equally share her passion for the popstar, and together they form the band “Babyface Bland”.
All logic behind this idea: the name, the dance moves, the songs, is akin to that of a 10-year-old. The script was spot on in its throwback to 2000s UK primary school, becoming reminiscent of childhood fantasies and how real they can feel at a young age. In fact, the show invites the audience to feel excited for Amy, as she fulfils her childhood fantasy on stage – remastering her old song and adjusting choreography for a fabulous performance.
The dynamic between the three friends works well, with each character as entertaining as the other. The script was so funny because it was so relatable, being a girl in school and wanting to be famous, a thought likely to a crossed most 10-year-olds’ minds. As the girls grow up into teenagers, their priorities and interactions change with them – and again depicts an accurate setup of arguments and petulance.
The play then angles towards the topic of surveillance, which is where the plot was a bit uncertain. The general objective of the storyline got lost and as Amy broke the fourth wall and explained her ideas about the performance, different scenarios were presented.
One direction was that of Babyface Bland getting back together in present day and the other was of the girls working at a facial recognition startup. Although undoubtedly both scenes were funny, the actual message or warning of surveillance was unclear. Even Amy at the end admitted she didn’t even know what she was talking about. Perhaps this was all a satirical twist – but just ended up being slightly convoluted.
I would have preferred to see more of the male 10-year-olds on stage – definitely the highlight.
Writer: Claire Gaydon
Cast includes: Claire Gaydon, Yasser Zadeh, Alex Roberts
Music remastered by: James Jacob aka Jakwob
Venue: Camden People’s Theatre
Running time: 70 mins (no interval)
Review by Sofia Moran