Synopsis The boy who comes back from a war far away in a wooden box is glorified and called a hero. As the funeral plans are made on an estate in a small Kent town, his siblings squabble over who he was. Maybe the fanfare isn't needed for this heroic martyr. Vera Vera Vera is new play about fighting. Hayley Squires is a bracing new voice, clear eyed and loud, looking at violence, neglect and apathy Upstairs - Young Writers Festival
A triple threat of Vera Lynn explains the title of drama school graduate Hayley Squires’ vivid first play, yet another promising talent off the rank in this year’s Young Writers Festival.
Vera Lynn’s war-time songs – “Wish Me Luck,” “When I Grow Too Old To Dream,” and others – cover the scene changes in two parallel stories of aggression and attack.
Schoolboy Sammy (Ted Riley) prepares to fight a playground adversary while flirting with his possible girlfriend, Charlie (Abby Rakic-Platt), in the lunch break. Charlie has jam sandwiches and a copy of Romeo and Juliet, a play Sammy summarises for her (“I’ve seen the film, anyway”) as modern gang warfare.
Their three scenes are punctuated with acrimonious preparations, three months earlier, for the funeral of a soldier killed in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
The dead man is Charlie’s cousin; his sister Emily (Danielle Flett) is harassed by her psychopathic drug-dealing brother Danny (Tommy McDonnell), while his best friend Lee (Daniel Kendrick), Emily’s latest lover in a long line of them, all soldiers, tries to keep the peace.
In some ways the short 60-minute play, which has cracking dialogue and terrific acting in Jo McInnes’ brilliantly cast production, feels like an outline for a more sustained, more complex drama.
It’s never settled whether Sammy or Emily is the play’s focus. And there’s a soft argument on both sides about “cuddles” being the answer to conflict, in private and public.
But the raw authenticity in the exchanges on skewed friendship, teenage sexuality and the pat myth of the dead soldier’s heroism – Emily says that he, like all of them in this scuzzy Kent enclave, was useless, drugged-up, a total waste of space – is hypnotically compelling.
Danielle Flett delivers that last speech with indelible tragic fervour, eyes glistening with tears, hair twisting out of order, despair rising like the bleak future ahead, just as Sammy and Charlie, knuckles raw from their little local difficulty (she joins in his fight), start nursing a small flame of affection.
I went to see this on the 12th April, it was so hyped up by a friend of a friend that I literally was desperate to see it.
Ten minutes in I had a sinking feeling that this was a mistake.
It wasn't cutting edge, moving or even 'written with conviction'. The swearing was ridiculous. The audience laughed at the brutality of it but it was an uncomfortable laugh - like when someone tips a coffin precariously at a funeral.
I heard from my friend that it's been transferred to Peckham now so lets only hope that now that the hype has worn off the play disappears somewhere even more unheard of than the local theatre.
Awful, patronising, cringe worthy and I hate using these words but in the third scene it was like a christmas special of Eastenders ( an x rated one of course).
Well done for bringing up a topical theme but this wasn't a good play and the cast and the team working on it must have used up their supply of friends and family tickets by now surely! - HGem
20 Apr 12
It's hilarious that the reviews of this play have gone to war with each other, confirming the point of this play that people are always going to war with each other, though they may profess not to understand how they get into them. The play is one of the shortest I have seen at one hour, but it is a worthwhile hour. There is not a moment's lull over the course of the hour, and I believed nearly every exchange I was watching. None of the bad language is gratuitous, but rather captures street vernacular of young people everywhere. More critically, the bad language is important as it is part and parcel of the universal proneness to aggression that is the play's raison d'etre. I enjoyed both sets of actors, the young, and the even younger. (This is a lovely contrast to the other play in the Young Writer's Festival, which focused on the old, and the old at heart). I don't believe that the theme is intricately plotted into the action, but the play is nonetheless effective at making it's case about our always present capacity for violence, and the ways we justify and spin our actions to present our own violence as worthy. Ultimately, the actors make an indelible impression: the simmering anger and pursed lips of Tommy McDonnell's Danny, the coy sideways glances and "lady doth protest too much" exclamations of Abby Rakic-Platt's Charlie, the brazen foolhardiness amnd sheer likeability of Ted Riley's Sammy and the teary and confused self-hatred of Danielle Flett's Emily. - steveatplays
12 Apr 12
Two strong scenes, but for the most part an unfinished piece of theatre - Darren
04 Apr 12
I found Vera compelling in parts but weak in others. I left feeling I couldnt make up my mind about it - maybe if it were longer/ more developed it would have progressed into something much more finished. - Helen R
04 Apr 12
Matt know the writer do you ? I doubt it so how would you know how she talks in everyday life. If I was around a complete prick like you I would be swearing as well.. - Ray
03 Apr 12
Why don't all you sad people that have no life stop being nasty to the writer. This is supposed to be about a play .... So why don't you all group and read the review in the proper papers noty your sad little blog's. Clearly you are all jealous because she had her play choosen and produced and its sour grapes because either you didn't or you are related/friends with someone that feels their play missed out. If the sad arse ranting on here is anything to go by we can all be thankful they didn't get choosen. - Bryn Jones
03 Apr 12
http://exeuntmagazine.com/reviews/vera-vera-vera/
The way the writer talks in day to day life is pretty disgusting.
Not exactly a role model for thousands of young actresses hoping to have the same success - Matt
02 Apr 12
Poor. If the foul langauage was cut out it would only be 45 minutes long.
Abrupt and clumsy.
http://theatrethoughts.com/2012/04/01/vera-vera-vera-by-hayley-squires-royal-court-theatre-review/
The above review has it right.
- Jimmy D
02 Apr 12
Excellent writing, casting and direction. Kept me engrossed throughout and it had every element nailed - anger, love, pathos, naivety, bereavement, hopelessness. I could go on but my point is that I loved it! - Janice Sale
30 Mar 12
I listened to the live stream of the talk last night sent to me by the Royal Court.
Bored of Royal Court promoted writers enjoying the sound of their voice. I was hoping there would be humble advice on how to get manuscripts seen not hear someone wanting to be the new Simon Stephens. - JH
The first theatre opened as The New Chelsea on 16 Apr 1870. Changed name to Belgravia. Re-opened as Royal Court 25 Jan 1871. Demolished in 1887. New theatre opened (current, slightly different site) 24 Sep 1888. Famous for supporting and commissioning new writing. Probably the first UK Theatre to regularly include their URL in advertising. Member of the Society of London Theatre. In 1996 the theatre closed for redevelopment, funded by the National Lottery. The refurbished theatre at Sloane Square re-opened in February 2000 including two theatres the 389 seat Jerwood Theatre Downstairs and the studio style Jerwood Theatre Upstairs.
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