There is an unexpected inversion in Katy Nixon’s two-hander that creates a special tension. When we meet her, Kyla MacDougall has a frightening self-assurance. Played by Yolanda Mitchell, she is teasing, provocative and mercurial. It is all her nerdy classmate Jamie Sheldon can do to answer in complete sentences. Played by Testimony Adegbite, he is cautious and scared.
It turns out he is not the only one. The more Kyla threatens Jamie, the more it becomes apparent that, while he is trapped in a tough corner, the real victim is her. Jamie has witnessed a sexual assault at a party and is earnestly committed to telling the truth. Kyla wants him to retract his police statement. If he claims to have lied, he will take the pressure off her friends, Ryan, Stevo and Paulie, teenagers under the influence of online misogyny. She, in turn, will win their favour.
The girl who behaves as the boys’ emissary is actually the subject of their violence. Not that she can admit as much. Kyla sees being ostracised as a greater threat than being abused. In this way, Nixon draws out the contradictory emotions not only of teenagers trying to fit into a world where the pressure to conform is real and the urge to do the right thing is abstract, but also of a young woman trying to make sense of being raped.
Gillian Argo’s chequered set reflects the mental chess game they are playing. A red ribbon scars the stage like the slash of a knife, as if cutting through their ability to think ahead. The term “cheapo” describes a trick to lure a chess opponent into making a losing move. The play, under the lively direction of Guardian critic Brian Logan, is a slippery to-and-fro of strategy, speculation and cunning, as the teenagers search for options to escape what feels like the inevitable checkmate, but might just go beyond a binary black and white.
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At Òran Mór, Glasgow, until 4 October. Then at Traverse theatre, Edinburgh, 7–10 October, and Lemon Tree, Aberdeen, 14–18 October
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Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
