Advisor insight by Max Baraki
The script for ‘Natives’ was incredible, three teens that come from different cultures and social classes dealing with complex problems. They each for a brief moment escape the label society holds on them, to be perfect, to follow in the siblings footsteps or to accept that people different to you must be punished.
“I don’t have any experience in playwriting or directing but I am glad to have read the script, it was very absorbing.”
‘Natives’ provides great insight into the mind of a fourteen year old and their understanding of the world that many older generation would be desensitised to or have just accepted as something that cannot be changed. Digital media played a significant part in influencing the characters, which ultimately leading to the videos they had release in the end. It shows the younger generation and the generation to come have been moulded by the general consensus on social media about the way to behave or ideas to believe in.
Student insight by Sumyu La Nguyen, Year 10 Drama Student
‘Natives’ was an incredible play which thoroughly explored the immense social pressure brought on to bear on teenagers and the physical, psychological conflict we face in the world. The dynamic and free-flowing movements were awe-inspiring especially accompanied with the music. Immediately, I was drawn to how relevant it was to the current world we live in, something I didn’t realise whilst reading the script.
“The dynamic and free-flowing movements were awe-inspiring.”
My favourite character was ‘a’ because I was able to sympathise with what she was going through, especially the moment where she was questioning the adequacy of her self-worth based the number of hearts she received. I felt as though this was the truest reflection of the society we live in today where girls are deemed ugly purely because they don’t comply with society’s unrealistic and absurd ideals. She is a symbolic representation of the shame and pressure young women feel on a daily basis-which I found very powerful.