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Camden Fringe
A well-acted comedy drama about the relationships and misadventures of privileged private school students, which is reassuringly full of familiar and petty tribulations.Summary
Rating
Excellent
Veni Vidi Vici (‘I came, I saw, I conquered’) is the moto of Ambledown College. It immediately tells us something of the self-interested mindset of the students at this private boarding school, whose interactions we here see in an informative and humorous slice of life. Writer and director Élise Black draws from her own experiences at private school to present the world, relationships and unfolding drama.
We are welcomed by Cordelia (Esther Carr) delivering an opening monologue in her dorm room, directly addressing the audience as if speaking her thoughts to her diary. There’s a sense of her priorities and situation in life as she bemoans her family’s choice of holiday ski resort and is hilariously petulant about the expectation of which University she will be sent to, acting with a childlike tantrum whilst she wants to be treated as an independent adult. Like the other students we meet, Cordelia is privileged and unconsciously self-centred in her views and behaviour but is never unlikable; as well as wanting to visit Africa to ride an elephant she reassures us that she also wants to “help people and stuff”.
Cordelia is engaged in all manner of drama with her fellow students, both academic and personal, and the cast portrays this very well with a lot of good humour. Cordelia’s core friends are an array of archetypes: the prim and academically focused Henny(Christina Moonsam), the friendly but heavy-drinking Dougie (Paddy McMullan), and Bertie (Edward King Thompson) the charismatic sportsman who is academically hapless. There is also Verity(Helen Blight) who is unfairly maligned by Cordelia, and French student Olivier (Raphael Bijaoui) who is well-liked (if not always fully understood) by his fellow students. Friendships, relationships and rivalries are formed, tested and unrequited as they navigate the world of early adulthood. There are also hints and rumours of more serious secrets, and it is very accurate to the nature of gossipy rumour-stirring that neither the audience nor other students are ever fully clued into exactly what they all are.
The student encounters are broken down into smaller chapters and there is an innovative approach to transitions though the use of an onstage screen displaying Cordelia’s diary, which is brilliantly designed and animated by Yasmin Parekh. The diary is written out in real time, keeping us informed as the school term progresses and using a Latin phrase (with English translation) to give a hint about the content we are about to watch unfold, such as the ominous ‘dog eat dog’. The set makes good use of a table and chairs to represent a range of locations: dorm rooms, common room, sports hall locker room and the local pub. There is no wasted time during the set changes; whilst some of the cast move the furniture around in the background, others come to the foreground to continue to deliver their own scene. The cast are dressed in a range of appropriate costumes: college uniform blazers and ties, sporting uniforms and their casual weekend attire.
This is a well-focused 40-minute showcase of the range of experiences of student life at private school, as Black wisely does not try to stretch the material beyond what is required naturally to tell the story. It is an intriguing and humorous insight into this world.
Written and Directed by: Élise Black
Projection Design and Animation by: Yasmin Parekh
Veni, Vidi ,Vici plays at Hen & Chickens Theatre until 19 August. Further information and bookings can be found here.
