School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play London Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (17)
See it if You want great performances - and lots of comedy - the story had meaning but was not the focus - brilliantly done
Don't see it if This is a must see - no reason not to watch this
See it if you want a laugh-out-loud funny but also topical and thought provoking evening. If you enjoy a talented cast and brilliant direction.
Don't see it if you don't find teenage angst amusing (though missing it would be a shame). You don't enjoy thinking alongside your laughing. Read more
See it if you like a comedy with some deep emotional moments too
Don't see it if you want a play with an interval, this is a one-act play
See it if you like Mean Girls.
Don't see it if if you don't like Mean Girls.
See it if You like strong female POC characters and shows with culture and identity.
Don't see it if You don’t like school dramas.
See it if - you want to learn more about Ghanaian culture in the 80s, especially for young women. - enjoy an all-female cast on stage
Don't see it if - you are expecting a very strong storyline. The narrative dragged on in the middle. - you are expecting it to be more like Mean Girls.
See it if Brilliant acting - poignant and funny. Diversity in audience was great. Loved this show.
Don't see it if you only like mainstream and rather bland shows
See it if You love a good comedy which also makes you think.
Don't see it if You don't like teenage angst or are uncomfortable with themes of bullying.
Critic Reviews (11)
“Monique Touko’s sparky production deftly skirts sitcom to highlight the applicability of a darker narrative that may be set at a desirable girls’ boarding school in Ghana in 1986 but speaks more widely to the ongoing, ever-desperate desire to fit in, often at considerable cost to one’s sense of self.”
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“This is emphatically not a play to sit and endure in silence, but to joyfully engage with...it’s a really smashing 80 minutes in the theatre, and a sparkling new addition to the roster of London’s summer must-sees.”
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“ ‘School Girls’ is bursting with sharply funny lines and precision-engineered setpieces...But there’s a bleakness to it, too, as it shows the pain of these girls and woman as they sacrifice themselves for a Western narrative of beauty that they know, deep down, will never embrace them.”
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“Although the play is essentially a comedy, its core is far from funny. The stakes here aren’t just intensely personal.
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“...Ghanaian American writer Jocelyn Bioh...created a funny but biting play packed with clever laughs that come with a stinging afterburn...It’s heartbreaking, as we watch this beautiful Black woman tear strips off her own skin in a quest to fit a western standard of beauty she cannot hope to meet.”
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“ ‘School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play’ is a refreshing look at teenage girlhood within which there is both sorrow and joy. It’s a fast-paced look at racism and self-image that emphasises some uncomfortable truths about our society...My only criticism of this show is that it was over too soon, and I only hope as many people as possible are able to see this wonderful piece of theatre. ”
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It is to Bioh’s credit that School Girls manages to be both riotously funny and deeply affecting. The entire ensemble cast is brilliant, but particular praise must go to Tara Tijani as Paulina, who manages to be the worst person you ever met in school and the most pitiable at the same time; her use of skin-lightening bleaching cream is one of the show’s most devastating moments. Monique Touko’s direction is slick and accentuates the brilliance of the writing, whilst the transitions are energising and characterful. As for the ending – I can’t spoil it, but I will say that this is a play that will leave you thinking about race for a long time, more so when you know that it is based on what really happened in the Miss Ghana and Miss Universe pageants of 2011. All I can do is urge you to get tickets before this sells out.
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"“This play shows Black women that there is nothing but misery to be found in chasing them – and that there is beauty to be found outside of that: you just need to acknowledge it.”
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