Lynn drama students tackle mental health

A teenager with something mysterious growing inside her was the tragi-comic subject of a production staged by drama club students at a West Norfolk school.​

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​Entitled The IT, the play by Vivienne Franzmann tells the story of a girl who believes that she is inhabited by an unknown creature that is trying to break free, with the playwright using the scenario to examine mental health issues in young people. The 26 cast members were all in Years 9 and 10 at Springwood High School and members of the school’s Kinetic Theatre group.

“The play is now an examination text and was therefore performed by students studying it at GCSE,” explained Alun Bliss, who runs Kinetic Theatre and directed the production. “The majority of the cast were drawn from Year 10, with a few Year 9 students also taking roles in what was an ensemble performance.

“The play was originally performed at the National Theatre as part of the Connections Festival, and is aimed at young people and young audiences."

He continued: "The play centres upon a young girl who is convinced she has an animal growing inside her. Fuelled by events in her life and how she tries to cope with the outside world, the short play is thought-provoking and explores adolescent mental health and ‘the rage within’.”

The play ran over two consecutive nights in the Drama Studio at Springwood, a member of the West Norfolk Academy Trust, with students providing the artwork that formed a backdrop to the performance, as well as working on the technical side of the production.

“As with all Kinetic productions, there was an attention to detail, with a modern soundtrack under-pinning every scene, a thought-provoking backdrop of projected images, and an approach that blended physical theatre with reported action,” said Mr Bliss.

Aside from a break during the pandemic, Kinetic Theatre has held a production annually since the group was first formed over 30 years ago and staged its first ever performance.

“It was started in 1991 when a group of sixth formers approached me wanting to do a pantomime,” said Mr Bliss. “Our first play was TS Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral.

“It began as a group for senior students – although it is usually open to all ages, depending on the production. It is good to see young people working collectively to perform as well as they can.”