Whole

This immaculately integrated four hander gives us a group of older teenagers acting out the story of their lost friend Holly and it is one of the most hard-hitting and moving pieces of theatre for young audiences I’ve ever seen. Holly (Grace Willis) – in care almost all her life, now neglected by the aunt she lives with (“she only wants the benefits”) – is suicidally desperate for friendship. She also needs to explore her own sexuality. Her friends fail her, or think they do.

Philip Osment ran verbatim theatre workshops with 20 Stories High’s Young Actors, then drama workshops, then “dinner and debate” evenings to gather the raw material for this piece which looks at religion, sex and sexuality for young people with African backgrounds alongside those whose families have always lived in the UK.

There’s a great deal of anguish in this gut-wrenching play, with evocative music performed by the cast to create atmosphere and, at times, almost operatic depth. There is also humour along with sparky use of statements straight to the audience. And the ingenious packaging of it as a play within a play which suddenly falls apart in the middle and deliberately unsettles the audience, creates a real crackle.

Jacob Beswick’s impassioned performance as Dylan, Annabel Annan-Jonathan’s work as the gentle, intelligent but troubled Chantal and Joseph Adelakun’s portrayal of musical Joseph fresh from Nigeria and wanting sex in spite of himself, all help to make Whole a remarkable piece of startlingly good theatre. See it if you possibly can.