Slammed

Ripped straight from the headlines, Slammed is a docu-drama about high-school bullying. The play follows a group of students as they battle their way through Year 10 and the effects of bullying, both internet and physical, which have tragic consequences.

We have often been told to write what we know and Stephanie Brooke Harper, a former high-school teacher, has certainly done that. Across a series of short, sharp, scenes with occasional soliloquies, Harper sketches in the brutal and confronting world that faces high-school students today.

When amphetamines are found in 15-year-old Jake’s backpack, put there by his “pusher” father, it sets off a chain reaction that touches the students, teachers, and parents. Told with naturalistic dialogue, the scenario is instantly recognisable and accessible in John Peek’s taut production.

Dane Brady, in his professional debut as Jake, was impressive as the teen trying to negotiate the murky terrain of adolescence without parental guidance. Alexander Clarke as the uncouth Reece played the “bad boy” with arrogance and cocky bravado, while Daniel Hurst as David, the recipient of the fatal punch and picked on nerd, had spunk.

Gabriella Flowers brought terrific strength to the role of the teacher Fiona. A sort of “mother-hen” to all characters, she not only had warmth, but a truthful honesty. Honesty could also be applied to Stephen Hirst’s teacher Mathew, a man in pieces following his wife walking out on him, with Geoffrey Winter believably real as the gay teacher Nick who helps him through it.

Both fathers were played by the dependable Chris Kellett. Randall, a middle-class WASP who was more upset at losing a real-estate deal than he was about his kid’s future, and Tony, at the other end of the social spectrum, a bogan alcoholic whose drug deals keep him just this side of the law. Both roles allowed Kellett to dominate the stage with authority being tough, aggressive and loud.

Others to be noticed in a basically ensemble cast were Madison Kennedy-Tucker as Jake’s confidante Emily, and Wendy Peard doing double duty as the principal Helen and the WASP wife.

Costumes were character appropriate, with set, lighting and sound enhanced by Tom McKillop’s urban graffiti art.

There’s a large audience for Slammed as the frequently sold-out performances during its two-week run proved. It’s not perfect by any means, and needs to have 15-minutes slashed from its running time, plus the soliloquies could do without the rhymes which only add a pretentious level that these characters don’t need, but as a piece of theatre it’s effective and engrossing. Harper set out to write a discussion-piece on bullying and on that score she has succeeded admirably. Slammed deserves to be widely seen.

Peter Pinne