Liar and Totally Over You

The March 2007 drama production in the Studio Theatre featured plays by two successful contemporary writers – “Liar” by Gregory Burke and “Totally Over You” by Mark Ravenhill. Burke’s “Black Watch”, based on the experiences of Scottish soldiers in Iraq, is currently touring Scotland with the National Theatre, while Ravenhill has had a number of highly acclaimed West End productions including the alternative pantomime “Dick Whittington and His Cat”.

Producer and director Peter Russell knows that conventional wisdom advises school productions to steer clear of teenage romance. “Liar”, however, is an affectionate look at the teen movie genre and the lovers (the enterprising Ronnie and the hard-shelled Katie) were convincingly played by Jack Holman and Grace Cartwright, well supported by good timing on the part of their male and female sidekicks. The pace was fast-moving, the shifts between the episodic scenes were well handled and the music was intelligently used.

The battle between the protagonists was sharply defined. Jack, who said he relied on his “cheeky smile”, thought the most important thing about a woman was how she would look in a bikini, whilst Katie was disappointed that her suitor had apparently “not done one bad thing in his life”.

“Totally Over You” is based on the classic 17th century comedy “Les Précieuses Ridicules”, but transfers Molière’s theme of obsession with courtly love to current teenage obsession with celebrity. Kitty, strongly played by Hope Lumsden, was the leader of a pack of “silly, silly dreaming girls”, guided in life by the astrology pages in magazines and fantasising about shopping and being stalked. A strong cast included the rejected boyfriends, led by Jake (Jonny Mallet), the initially nerdy but later “cool” drama class and the wild and wonderful screaming girls.

Both texts focussed on the close relationship between lying and loving. Both engaged the audiences which were packed tightly into the atmospheric-as-ever Studio Theatre. Over 60 actors and actresses were intensely focussed on the task of telling these two interlaced tales.

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