The Diary Of A Teenage Girl Review
I haven’t seen the movie or read the book of The Diary Of A Teenage Girl so I was walking into Southwark Playhouse totally blind. The show focuses on the coming-of-age adventures of Minnie Goetze (Rona Morison), a San Francisco teenager in 1976 who begins a secret affair with her mother’s boyfriend Monroe (Jamie Wilkes). She’s fifteen years old and Monroe, well he’s twice her age.
Fast talking Rona Morison is spellbinding as Minnie and it’s impressive how she manages to not only remember all her dialogue but deliver it effortlessly. The rest of the supporting cast are exceptional but it’s really Rona and Jamie Wilkes that steal the show. Their chemistry on stage… no matter how creepy it is at times (given the 20 year age gap between their characters)… is something that you can’t take your eyes off.
The simple set design and projected images on the wall made The Diary Of A Teenage Girl a strangely intimate play. You felt drawn in to her world and all the teenage angst and sexual frustration that went along with it. One of the final scenes of the play is so raw and heartbreaking that you can easily forgive the times when the somewhat precocious Minnie’s ramblings and inner monologues become too much.
As the play explores a number of confronting topics such as statutory rape, drug use and rape, so may not be for everyone but I left the theatre wishing I’d read the book and watched the movie. If a play makes you want to learn more about the story afterwards… it’s done a whole lot of things right. The Diary Of A Teenage Girl is playing until the 25th of March at Southwark Playhouse. Tickets can be purchased online at http://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/show/the-diary-of-a-teenage-girl/
Reporter: Tegan LeBon
Twitter and Instagram: Toogs1
Photos by Darren Bell
Southwark Playhouse
77-85 Newington Causeway
London SE1 6BD
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