Cara and Kelly are Best Friends Forever For Life is a fantastic play that explores class and race dynamics through the lens of two fourteen-year-old girls.
It is comparable to a socially conscious Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, with cathartic moments of dancing to pop music in bedrooms sharply contrasted with an impactful and emotional political message.
The play follows best friends Cara and Kelly, who are 14 in 2013. A difference between them is evident from the outset: while Kelly has a BlackBerry and gets McBusted tickets for her birthday, Cara lives in a flat above a fish and chip shop, with absent parents and a drug-dealing brother. When a new girl, Sumaya, a refugee, arrives at school, Kelly’s dreams of becoming netball captain and Cara’s hopes for a future relationship with her crush are jeopardised.
Mojola Akinyemi is a generational writing talent. The dialogue is chatty and natural in the best way, and her depiction of teenage girlhood is warm and honest. The writing is funny, smart, and engaging, yet also profound. I am endlessly excited to see Akinyemi’s future as a playwright.
Performances from both Scarlett Stitt and Isobel Thom are outstanding, perfectly encapsulating the intensity of adolescence. Monologues delivered by Stitt, playing Cara, are particularly exceptional, showcasing an impressive emotional range. The naïveté and angst of the characters drive the political side of the play, as their teenage jealousy reveals a much more sinister issue.
Everything about the show perfectly captures what it was to be a teenage girl in the 2010s. The set evokes the bedroom walls of teenage dreams: signed photos of Olly Murs and Tom Daley; magazine cuttings of Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran; and group photos adorned with Snapchat filters and captions. The playlist is back-to-back 2013 pop bangers, from Charli XCX’s ‘I Love It (I Don’t Care)’ to McFly’s ‘Star Girl’—a track list that I am unashamed to admit has been on repeat in my headphones all day since seeing the show.
Despite a few moments that slow the pacing and slightly soften the impact, Cara and Kelly are Best Friends Forever For Life remains a thought-provoking and impactful piece about friendship and social dynamics. I will be thinking about this brilliant show for a long time—and, of course, listening to songs from 2013.
Cara and Kelly are Best Friends Forever For Life is running until 25 August (not 18) at Bunker Three at Pleasance Courtyard.
Buy tickets here.
Image courtesy of Ché Deedigan, provided to The Student as press material.