1 week Ago By [email protected] (Robert Dalling)
A chicken shop, two teenagers, and their day dreams of becoming rich and famous. The world that Cardiff-born playwright Rebecca Jade Hammond has created in her play Hot Chicks is not an uncommon one. But the mundane, and unremarkable setting, and its every day characters, is what is so vital about this show.
In a cast of just four people, the story of 15-year-olds Ruby and Kyla, set in Penlan, Swansea, shows the danger presented to innocent young people through County Lines operations - or drug running - and the exploitation of children - a very real issue operating in the underbelly of society. Whilst hanging out at Cheney’s chicken shop, they have a chance encounter with older, cooler Sadie. On the face of it, she represents everything they dream about, wearing designer outfits and jewellery, and being able to afford whatever she wants.
From superstar gigs to cosy pubs, find out What’s On in Wales by signing up to our newsletter here . As they perform dances in their school uniform to post on TikTok, with the aspiration of gaining 100,000 followers to enable them to afford a new life in Las Vegas, it takes very little for them to be drawn to her. Sadie’s gestures start off small, casually paying for their dinner, before things become more sinister on repeat visits, when she asks the two young girls to drop off a bag which she ‘accidentally’ left behind in the chicken shop toilets, which turned out to be full of drugs.
Gifts follow, as does the pressure she puts on the young girls, who find themselves deeper and deeper in the illegal operation, and become more and more exploited, with dark and tragic outcomes. Staged at Swansea Grand Theatre, this is an incredibly powerful and moving piece of theatre, with all four cast members excellent in their roles, in particular Londiwe Mthembu as Ruby, who showed a great range of emotion depicting some of the more harrowing experiences she encountered. Presented by Grand Ambition, the Grand Theatre’s Arts Wing was well used to maximise its space available, and lighting and blacked out dance routines were expertly executed to add pacing and tension to the play itself.
Mrs Hammond’s 75-minute play is a very important watch for parents in this day and age. The playwright explained how the subject matter of the performance has created many conversations among families, and that, in itself, shows its true value. Read a full feature on the background behind the show by clicking here .
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