The Wolves | Ad Astra
It’s not everyday that you get to see an ensemble of young women on stage in such a tightly written and directed work that does a remarkable job representing the female teenage experience, while running the full gamut of emotions.
Written by Sarah DeLappe, The Wolves spans across five pre-game soccer warm up sessions of a female teenage soccer team who discuss and banter over various topics – some serious and some not so much on a green field of AstroTurf. These exchanges range between fast and considered, with the candid and crude dialogue often overlapping authentically and flip flopping between different subject matters as is often the case when you have a group of teenagers in the same room as each other.
Director Caitlin Hill skillfully incorporates real-time soccer warm-ups, drills and exercises making the audience feel like they are flies on the wall in the team’s session. Hill directs the ensemble to catch a strong sense of team camaraderie while still ensuring that each of the nine characters have their own unique presence. Memorable mentions go to #25, team captain played by Sharnee Tones who evoked a strong sense of authority whilst succumbing to the prejudices and imperfections of her team. On the opposite end of the scale, Malika Savory plays #2 as timid and conservative; traits that often played up for comedic effect whilst still remaining relatable.
Hill does an excellent job threading the metaphor of the team-mates being Wolves through use of physical theatre and individual movement sequences, creating an animalistic quality to their characters. A powerful moment is when Savory’s character devours a bag of orange slices in eerie red lighting, before ferociously glaring at the audience. Overall, the ensemble – married with the quality of direction and the text – were air-tight with not a moment feeling wasted, a silence not being unfocused or a ball kick being unintentional.
The Wolves is not just a ninety-minute play about soccer; it’s a play about the power of female friendships, gender, sexuality, racism, class, grief and politics. It’s a play that makes you think about the power of communities and how essential they are, especially in our most formative years.
