Punk Rock is one of two third year led Simon Stephens plays the TFTV department is showcasing this autumn.
Introducing us to a group of private/grammar school friends confronting ever nearing A Level exams and the notion of life outside of education, the play takes place in a time span that ranges from September to November- the frenetic pace and tension rising and erupting in sync with the university’s essay season. In a rare break from theatre that sees student actors climbing into the shoes of middle aged characters, Punk Rock is made the more stimulating and believable due to the bare faced youth of the actors and the recent and immediate memories it stirs in a university audience.
As with every secondary clique, the range of characters is diverse. Leaning slightly in favour of a masculine cast, we are introduced to the usual spectrum of male bravado. From the intellectual dick-swinging of the self-defined superior to the on-point crassness of the school stud, the ever shifting love-triangles they construct are shown to be built on foundations of doubt and inferiority complexes. The catalyst for much of the boy’s misdemeanours, the girls gradually emerge as subtle pastiches of bitch, pleasant and undeniable new girls. Naturally, this soon emerges to be merely superficial.
Simon Stephens is one of Britain’s most decorated playwrights. Collecting the Olivier Best New Play Award for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, perhaps his appeal is best understood with knowledge of his popularity in Europe. With plays regularly performed and occasionally debuted on the continent, his success can be in part put down to the revealing lens it places on British culture. Although offering a similarly unforgiving insight, Punk Rock, as with much of Stephens’ work, refuses to go out with a whimper. One is welcome to speculate in what form, but the downright unpredictable plot will be sure to shock and emotionally bulldozer the audience in equal measure.
The show plays from Tuesday 26th to Saturday the 30th. Tickets cost £5 for students, £8 for adults. www.store.york.ac.uk
There are also exclusive double bill tickets available to see both Motortown and Punk Rock: £7.50 for students and £12 for adults.