Fringe Review: MAKE ME GOOD AGAIN, Venue 45 at theSpace @ Venue 45
Photo credit: Supplied by the Production
Make Me Good Again is a new play by Kai Yilmaz-Porter exploring a boy's struggles to navigate teenage life whilst living with his autistic brother. Stories of living with autism are rarely seen on stage beyond The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, which frequently tours the country, so it is refreshing to see this experience shared on stage from a different angle.
When booking to review this show, we did so on the basis that the plot sounded interesting. Little did we know that this was actually a school production from St Albans School. Regardless, there is some exciting young talent on display in this show.
Yilmaz-Porter’s script feels raw and personal - it is refreshing to see teenagers on stage, written by teenagers. The family relationships that Yilmaz-Porter has written are incredibly believable and it's here where the show is strongest. The play attempts to address the right wing media's influence on young people and the lies spread by the media about what autism is and where it comes from. Whilst these are important topics, it feels like the play is trying to do much.
Yilmaz-Porter also leads the cast as Daniel. His performance is wonderful and deeply moving. He has a great rapport with James Jacklin who gives an excellent performance as brother Max. Seeing the ups and downs of the relationship is in equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking. Grace Brabin also delivers a stand out performance as mother Miranda. Whilst she is the same age as the actors playing her sons, she delivers a performance with conviction, full of warmth, and you can quickly overlook the ages of the performers.
The show’s lighting design by Lucy Hanneghan-Birt, who also directs the show, and Guy Lewis, builds tension and emotion effectively. The show does feel a little disjointed and could have smoother transitions from scene to scene. Some of the movement sequences distract from the narrative - the strength of the piece is in its naturalism and believable relationships.
Make Me Good Again is a moving play, putting stories on stage that really need to be there. If this is the quality of Kai Yilmaz-Porter’s writing now, we can't wait to see what his future holds. Amidst headlines of arts education cuts, a huge amount of credit must go to Head of Drama Lucy Hanneghan-Birt and all at St Albans School who have given students the opportunity to tell a story they're passionate about telling at the biggest arts festival in the world.
*** Three stars
Reviewed by: Jacob Bush