Jackson's Lane Theatre is no stranger to talented troupes of young performers passing through its doors, and the cast and crew behind Redemption High are certainly ones to watch.
Despite their rather bizarre alphanumeric name, Trans4maz are one of the strongest reasons why the London theatre scene now takes youth productions progressively more seriously.
Redemption High is the earnest story of a class of teenage performers whose lives outside school are fraught with trying, traumatic circumstances. The cast is huge and director Abigail Ayo deserves due credit for being the skilled circus master to such an ambitious production. Each pupil is endearing, hilarious and has their own set of issues expertly hinted at and gradually revealed. From the materialistic, make-up obsessed, Kim Kardashian-wannabe twins Chrissy and Vicki (Maria Adegeye and Tolu Sehindemi) to the unfeeling thuggish Tammy (Christiana Akanele Kalu), the essence of each character is brilliantly realised by an undoubtedly talented cast. The stage is full of energy when the pupils all appear together during playground and classroom scenes and remains eerily captivating when darker storylines are revealed.
Though I am excited to see what Trans4maz will produce in the coming year, at 3-hours long, Redemption High is sadly twice the length it should be, overladen with subplots, and cluttered with unnecessary dramatic revelations. Writer and director Abigail Ayo is clearly overflowing with brilliant ideas but they need refining.
There is a strong Christian message and the play promotes better decision-making though rarely through artful storytelling. One of the most excessive presences is that of Jay, the mentor who encourages the children to realise that there is more to life than money, sex, drugs and status. The characters help each other through the natural way of the classroom which is harsh, but, on-stage as in life, occasionally becomes the scene of a few emotional breakthroughs. By paying attention to the many sides of their classmates, the characters conclude their own story-lines without the need for an obvious guardian angel type to help them see the straight path.
The setting is also confusing. Since the production is billed as a musical, there's no need to put the characters in one of 'London's top performing arts schools' to accommodate their skills. What resonates with the audience is that fact that the pupils are like so many others in this varied city and their problems are universal; the kids are not privileged but familiar.
The highlights are the poetry and spoken word scenes: never patronising, these are frequently lyrical, comedic and compelling. Also striking is the theme of identity portrayed through Brandon the Nigerian who pretends to be from Jamaica, played by the hilarious Michael Ayo, fantastically unafraid of physical comedy. This début production from Abigail Ayo serves her well and is a great showcase for this talented troupe.
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