Outfit Theatre's latest production drops us into the pressure-cooker environment of a posh English secondary school where a group of articulate high-achieving teenagers are preparing for their final A-Level exams.
The set-up is remarkably similar to Alan Bennett's The History Boys but the drama rapidly veers off into much darker territory as it explores a seething self-contained world filled with adolescent angst.
British playwright Simon Stephens has a sharp ear for the twitchy mood swings of teenage conversation that can flit from crude sexual insults to obtuse reflections on quantum physics.
The drama lays bare the appalling brutality of schoolyard bullying which is revealing shown from the point of view of the bully, the victim and the onlookers who fail to prevent the cruelty.
The shock tactics leave little room for analysis but the play presents a variety of complex teenage characters that are convincingly brought to life by the talented young cast.
