How is life for a young girl who lives in the city? This play, by Olivier Award-winning playwright Mike Kenny and designed by illustrator Rachana Jadhav, brings to life the vivid imagination of ten-year-old Loretta (Christina Ngoy); a lonely girl in a busy world.
The statistics point to a dramatic rise in the level of childhood depression over the course of a generation. Many parents believe their kids are less happy than they were at the same age.
Young people are growing up in a world where they feel under enormous pressure – many experience ongoing stresses at school, bullying, body image issues, sexual pressures, poverty and inequality, an online culture that bombards them with messages about perfection and great uncertainty about their adult futures.
Social media have changed changed our life – and our lifestyle. Although designed to promote connection, could social media be playing a role in our current loneliness epidemic?
Ngoy is engaging and believable in this one woman show. There are other characters in the story: the mother, the brother, Maya, the new girl at school and an asylum seeker, and Mrs Thing who lives upstairs: all of them are brought to life by storytelling and beautiful animations.
Random Selfies is a modern, entertaining and punchy show, that will be hopefully seen by many teenagers and families.
It runs until Sat 7 April.
Photo: The Other Richard