Budgie – Theatre Peckham, Peckham

Reviewer: Christine Stanton

Writer: Hannah Blaine

Director: Lilla Kaputa

“Needs More Focus”

2.5 / 5

~This review was originally written for The Reviews Hub ~

Tyler and Yaz are 17-year-old best friends, coming to the end of their time at college and beginning to make decisions for the rest of their future. Decisions that are made much harder when Yaz realises she may have to make them alone. Waking up and realising her mum has abandoned her – no discussion, no letter, just £1000 in an envelope for her to do as she pleases, what better way to cope than by throwing a huge party?

Within Budgie, writer and performer Hannah Blaine has the essence of a really emotionally charged show, with a variety of poignant narrative threads such as parental abandonment, coming of age, friendship dynamics and societal pressures. The problem is, is that instead of the show coming together as a fully fleshed-out production, it instead is presented almost as a collection of partially written scenes, loosely stitched together, but none quite finished. The character backstories and personalities are never pushed past what is presented in the initial introduction, resulting in plot points such as Yaz’s missing mum and her baby sister needing parental support left unexplained and unbelievable, causing them to clash and confuse rather than integrate into the former scenes.

Both Hannah Blaine (Yaz) and Felicity Moore (Tyler) are great performers, keeping their audience engaged and the energy high. Moore especially, exudes confidence on stage, most notably during the dance scenes where her passion and talent shines through. Blaine contrasts well with Moore, creating the chemistry for believable friendship duo on stage. Director Lilla Kaputa takes an interesting approach midway through the show during the house party, where there is a lengthy, wordless, contemporary dance scene to highlight the turmoil and intoxication of the characters. While it begins initially as an exciting addition to the show, alongside the occasional projected visuals, it lasts way too long and forces the script to lose momentum, without continuing to add anything of substance to the production. If this could be trimmed down or utilised in a way that would help progress rather than pause the narrative, it would work much better.

Overall, this is a great first draft that has a lot of potential to become an intriguing, thought-provoking show. Budgie has time to spread its wings and to keep experimenting with different techniques and story-arcs, before nesting down with a more solidified plot and better focused production.

Runs until 17 May 2023