THE RENDITION MEETS THE SCHOOL GIRLS
“I think there has been a lot of focus on Black male experiences and voices, and I’m just glad that there is room for something else. I think [for] us as females, it is important…to be depicted in a way that is true and honest and unapologetic”
Last week we had the pleasure of sitting in the rehearsal room for School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play by Jocelyn Bioh, directed by Monique Touko.
The play follows Queen Bee Paulina and her crew as they excitedly await the arrival of the Miss Ghana pageant recruiter. It’s clear that Paulina is in top position to take the title until her place is threatened by Ericka – a beautiful and talented new transfer student. As the friendship group’s status quo is upended, who will be chosen for Miss Ghana and at what cost?
Hear from the cast and directors, as they share their interpretations of the play, the journey this production has taken them on and some personal stories on where they draw their inspiration from.
“That was the first time I had worn my natural hair with no extensions, in a public setting, getting my photo snapped. Even just seeing my face that different, was huge. I’ll never forget that day.”
QUESTION: What is this play about?
JESSICA: I would describe the play as very fun, very heartfelt and giving us an insight into young teenage girls lives set in Ghana, Aburi 1986. We see how these girls support each other and how they compete for the competition. They get an understanding of what beauty standards were like for them and how those beauty standards reflect today. I think that's what is quite powerful about the play, we see these young girls understanding that from the wider light; “what does beauty mean” “what does beauty mean in comparison to me”.... They have to sort of wrestle with this play… towards the end they have an understanding that they are all beautiful in their own way.
QUESTION: What has it been like working as a director on this play?
MONIQUE: It’s been a joy. It felt like it’s a gift. I feel like it has come at the right time in my career while I am able to take on the challenge. I think when something has an existing life before there is pressure of that and then trying to create a new identity. What’s exciting about coming to the UK is that there are a lot of first generation people that this will be their immediate experience… their parents experience, their aunts experience, so it feels like it's going to be very close to home. Also, a lot of people know about Ghana. Ghana is the first country to get independence in sub-Saharan Africa, a lot of people go there for ‘dirty December’… people know about it as a space, it has a particular energy and I’m so excited to bring that to life.
I think it’s so nice to be able to depict the youth, and depict young females. To be able to show Black women that are different on stage as well and are fully embodied… I think it is very important that people come open minded, open to learn but also open to have a really fun, enjoyable theatre experience. My main thing is that audiences come and have… it is about what's on stage but it’s about how they leave after and also the experience they have with other audience members. We are planning to create a whole experience… I think it’s going to be delightful.
QUESTION: What does getting in the zone look like for you?
ALISON: Every show or process that you do is slightly altered. I prepare before I come into the building because your physical health is so important and I don’t want to rush that bit. But when it comes to being in the theatre, it depends on the character that you are playing. It’s been a bit of a journey for me in my head and I think the vocal side of it is very important to me. Figuring out where she (Headmistress) places everything, because it sort of elevates it a bit. I try not to get into my head all the time because it’s so easy done, over analysing for no reason! For me, it’s about finding out what area I think brings me more connected to the character and that will be the basis of my warm up to carry on. Somedays I come and I just need to talk to people and then get into the rehearsal.
QUESTION: How do you channel your character?
ANNA: It’s funny when we first started this process, I was drawing on that feeling of starting somewhere new and being really nervous and being really apprehensive. I have quite a shy nature, once I’m in something then my confidence grows, but initially I have that trepidation so I was using that. I sort of realised in the last couple of weeks, like no this girl (Erica) is from Ohio, she's got the confidence, she needs to be a match to Paulina. I needed to push away the things that I know how to do, and actually try and do something that doesn't come natural to me, which is that strength and that confidence. It’s been a really interesting process and so challenging for me, it's definitely one of the best professional experiences that I’ve ever had!
QUESTION: Tell me about the promotional graphic.
BOLA: Natural hair curl pattern? Madness. I didn’t think it was going to be everywhere, that was shocking, to just see my face at Green Park, Goodge Street. Just having my friends send pictures of me in my natural curl pattern, I’m like yeah, that’s me out there. Even when we were having discussions about hair in the dressing room before the photoshoot, I was like, I’m trying to get into the habit of not saying thank you when people say “oh my gosh your hair is so long” when my afro is out. I think it’s weird and it’s a westernised concept to … if my afro is longer than what is stereotypical then it's like some sort of blessing, extra beauty, just because of the length of my hair - it's hilarious. I’m so happy that we've pushed that photoshoot out.
QUESTION: Compared to the things you have done in the past, in what way has this play challenged you afresh?
FRANCESCA: I work as a musician, composer and sound designer as well, I’m so grateful… I love just being in creative places and flexing that muscle and so to have the opportunity to do that, through acting as well is really a blessing. I am half Ghanaian, so immediately I was drawn to this story. I feel a closeness to it and I want to be part of sharing it. It’s definitely daunting. As a musician you're usually doing your thing, and then you come together but with this, the play really lives in the life of all of our characters together. Especially how girls are when they are that age at school and our characters, especially Gifty and Mercy just chime in all the time, jokes here and there and that's something I’ve not done before. It’s been challenging to find chemistry… but a really beautiful one.
QUESTION: How does this experience compare to your lived secondary school experience?
TARA: I feel like I’m happy that it is very different from my secondary school experience, but I had my Paulina. It was weird, because I went to a predominantly White secondary school and I was in with the cool kids, but it’s only later on in life that I’m like “I would have been so much more popular if I was just white”, I always just felt, always just slightly on the outside of the popular group, but I was in it fully. I got to Year 9 and I just thought “bun this man, they're boring anyway”. I was like this popular group is boring and it’s long, I feel like we are all competing for a spot at the table, so I just left that and did my own thing. Then I went to the Brit School for 2 years, and like Brits great because everyone just minds their business and got on with it.
QUESTION: What is your inspiration?
DEBORAH: I got into this after watching Lion King. I was taken as a child and I was in school, and I remember it got to Nala’s part and I was in tears. From the beginning of the show I was already like “oh my gosh these animals coming down the aisle”, but when she began to sing I was in floods of tears. I said to my teacher “ I wanna do that”. That took me on a journey of trying to become Nala and then in 2017, I actually ended up getting to play Nala. Afterwards being there I was like this is great, but also, I want to go beyond this.
I guess ultimately, I knew at that moment from when I first watched it was just the way it made me feel, I was just so moved. I know how things have made me feel and I wanna continue on making people feel a certain way; like you can have a rough day and you come into the theatre and it moves you and shifts you. It’s done it to me and I want to continue doing that to people - I can’t envision doing anything else but that.
QUESTION: What would you say to your younger self?
HEATHER: Stop looking outside of yourself. A lot of my sense of self was created from images I saw of what it meant to be a woman, what it meant to be black. For the system to work, they need to be negative to make us feel oppressed because we live in a white patriarchal society. So I would say create your own self from within, create mirrors inside your house, create a safe space around you to nourish you and also give you the truth. I think one thing that’s kind of haunted me in my life is that I believed a lot of lies about myself. So to my younger version I would say stop believing the lies, they're not true.
QUESTION: Describe the production in 3 words.
JADE: Relatable, Heart wrenching and beautiful
You can catch School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play at Lyric Hammersmith from 08 June — 15 July.
The cast includes Alison A Addo, Heather Agyepong, Bola Akeju, Deborah Alli, Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, Jadesola Odunjo, Anna Shaffer and Tara Tijani. Directed by Monique Touko, assisted by Jessica Mensah.
