Parents and their high school children are raving about the play Expelled, a shrill warning of how families can unravel and be derailed in a flash by social media.
“I went with some reticent teens last night who ended up being riveted. This is a powerful piece of theatre: thought-provoking, funny, disturbing and relevant,” says Cape Town mother Lianne Mazzullo.
Expelled has the power to jolt parents and teens who have not thought about the addictive grip of social media on their lives and its potentially ruinous impact, into a new awareness of its influence.
Rosiland Butler’s play revolves around a matric pupil at an elite boys’ school, who gets suspended after a scandalous video goes viral.
The messaging — wound into a slick plot supported by a sterling cast — blasted at the audience like a trumpet when I felt more nuanced messaging would have worked better. But many patrons felt it hit exactly the right note.
Sue Simpson Diepeveen wrote on the online platform, The Village: “Every parent of a teen and every teen needs to see Expelled! A parent’s worst nightmare and stark reminder of how your life can change in the blink of an eye.
“Sometimes telling a kid something goes right over their heads ... this is why theatre exists ... to help educate ourselves in a more visceral manner.”
Visceral and in your face this play certainly is. Directed by Craig Freimond, it unabashedly takes aim at all generations: the mother (Charmaine Weir-Smith) who lives vicariously through Facebook and her son, the work-focused father (Antony Coleman) and the self-absorbed son, Alex (Nicolas Hattingh).
Societal problems like “toxic masculinity” and elitism, and how private all-boys schools can foster these, get attention. Alex’s girlfriend — projected onto a wall when he talks to her on the phone — was pitch-perfect in her scene when these issues first come up and subsequent “calls”.
The award-winning actors portrayed their characters convincingly, but their development was limited by the script. The audience didn’t get time to bond with them before the family imploded. As a result, I felt unattached to them or how the crisis played out (a feeling expressed by the two teens who debriefed with me).
Expelled came to life through How Now Brown Cow’s script development programme, The Writer’s Collective, during lockdown. Its intimate setting in a lounge, designed by Kieran McGregor (also the lighting designer) and Daniel Rutland Manners (video designer), has echoes of that locked-in mood.
The pace of the plot and How Now Brown Cow’s production was brisk, however, delivering intense drama mingled with glimpses of humour. If the drama had been toned down a notch, I would have found it more engaging.
I may be an outlier in this. I’m not on Facebook or Instagram (WhatsApp takes enough time) though I see their impact, and until now, my teenage son has been obsessed with basketball, not his phone.
Whatever your perspective, How Now Brown Cow — founded by actor and writer Julie-Anne McDowell — has once again produced a hit play that South Africans are excited about, after their award-winning production of The Beauty Queen of Leenane.
Recommending it to other families, Cape Town mother Nicky Allen, says: “Expelled is an excellent production and all four (eye roll pre-show) teens really enjoyed it!”.
*Expelled is on at The Baxter Theatre in Cape Town until March 2, when it transfers to The Market Theatre in Johannesburg from March 7 to 31.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.