Girls

Taking your seat for ‘Girls’ upstairs at the Soho Theatre, the youth and diversity of the audience is instantly apparent- it feels like being part of something fresh and relevant, a quiet buzz about an ambitious generation.

Theresa Ikoko’s debut play, ‘Girls’ is a part of ‘Who runs the world?’ Soho Theatre’s Autumn season. Bursting with energy and courage, it is the story of three Nigerian teenagers kidnapped by a militant group. It becomes clear that the girls are Christian and the kidnappers Islamist and though not specified, the set up clearly owes much to the Chibok schoolgirls that were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014.

The context and much of the debate is unflinchingly political but the play is at heart a very human drama. The triangular relationship between Haleema (Anita-Joy Uwajeh), Ruhab (Yvette Boakye) and Tisana (Abiola Ogunbiyi), shifting as the increasing time away from everything they have known forces them into extreme and different survival responses. Haleema wants to escape, Tisana will be matyred before she converts and Ruhab falls for one of their captors.

The teenagers are innocent yet worldy, familiar characters in an unimaginable situation. Haleema knows they will be old news before long, Ruhab realises her beauty has currency and Tisana’s fantasy of being adored by her village and parents is easily identifiable with teenagers around the globe.

One thing that unites them is humour. Given the subject, you’d be surprised how much there is to laugh about in ‘Girls’. Ikoko explores the way we don’t stop laughing and teasing and dreaming even when our worlds are torn apart. There are some very funny moments, like when Halima mercilessly mocks Ruhab for being worried that her hostage video was shot from the wrong angle. And in the final moment, when there is nothing concrete left to hold on to, fantasy remains.

As we only ever see the three girls (in an abstracted space that moves from forest to camp), the political landscape beyond their walls must be explored through their youthful lense alone. At times this limitation stretches the characterisation as the girls 'role-play' their parents being interviewed by the press or their president in a conference a little too well. And perhaps because the actors have to stay on their toes for these comic turns, they never quite descend into the very dark place one imagines these girls surely ended up.

The ending has an uncertain ambiguity that weakens the final emotional punch but there’s no doubt this is an extraordinarily ambitious piece of theatre, with a huge heart and the potential to engage a wide audience.