Examining Teenage Mental Health: The IT Review | Ellen Leslie
★★★★
Grace Freemantle is an average girl. She’s not popular, or a loner; or a nerd, or in the bottom sets. That is, until the Thing happened, and suddenly, everyone in school started talking about her.
Written by Vivienne Franzmann and performed by five actresses from South Hampstead High School’s Fuzed Theatre Company, The IT is a dark thriller that explores the teenage mental health crisis. It tells the story of Grace, who has something inside her. She doesn’t know what it is: it’s not a baby, but it keeps growing uncontrollably, making its way through her body, and demanding to escape, no matter how hard she tries to hide it.
The girls all play different characters, from Grace herself, to her friends and acquaintances. By including so many characters, it feels as if there’s a whole class talking about Grace rather than just five people. The self-absorbed nature of the teenagers is conveyed well: they can all tell that something is wrong with Grace, but are too wrapped up in their own troubles and anxieties to help. Having all characters play Grace throughout the play is a strong choice as it helps to show how common mental health issues are among young people, as well as highlighting that she is an average girl.
Descriptions of the monstrous IT are wonderfully vivid with its spiky claws and pointy beak. While it starts small – first just a wormy feeling, then the size a cherry pit, the girls explain – it quickly grows, consuming her whole body. It is a highly effective metaphor for both anxiety and rage.
On the whole, the contemporary dance scenes are good, but would benefit from some more rehearsal. There are places where the girls don’t know the routines, and are looking at each other for help. Some moves that should be performed in sync are out of time. As Grace’s anxiety grows, their dancing becomes more frenzied, emphasising the panic that she feels.
It is a joy to see such a talented young cast perform so well. There are a few blips, but overall, it is a very strong performance. The actress who plays Grace at the end does a brilliant job of showing her genuine upset and distress. As their confidence grows, I would love to see them look into the audience more rather than past us, especially when working in a small space like this.
The IT is a thorough examination of the teenage mental health crisis, showing the various issues that teenagers have to deal with, and highlighting how constantly consuming bad news stories can impact our mental health. It is a highly important piece of theatre that deserves to be seen.
The IT was performed at theSpace – Niddry Street from 10-14 August as part of Edinburgh Fringe.
By Ellen Leslie
