Pretend You Have Big Buildings

Published Tuesday 17 July 2007 at 10:15 by Natalie Anglesey

The winning play, in the Bruntwood Playwriting Competition, receives its world premiere at the Royal Exchange as part of the Manchester International Festival.

Written by Ben Musgrave whilst he was taking an MA in Writing for Performance at Goldsmiths College, it has an interesting history.

Extracts were performed at a BAC staged reading two years ago. Used in a new writing process with E15 Drama School, extracts were also performed at the Actor’s Centre last year, so it was tried and tested before being submitted.

The Royal Exchange has, in turn, shown its commitment by dedicating two directors to this project in Jo Combes and Sarah Frankcom.

Set in the shadow of London’s Canary Wharf, Jaimie Todd’s design is dominated by an inverted pyramid which, like airline and car seats, as well as furniture, fly in and out at speed.

This London based work, concerns two teenage boys, who appear misfits in Thatcherite Britain, but who forge a common bond. The casting is first rate with an excellent performance from Sacha Dhawan as Danny, who arrives from India with his mother, played by Shobna Gulati. There’s another good performance from Jonathan Bailey as Leon, from Romford, who is questioning his sexuality and attitudes.

The language is brutal but poetic and, whilst some of the situations are somewhat contrived, it’s good to welcome a potent new voice which reflects the vibrancy of youthful vigour at odds with relationships and society.