Review: Broken Biscuits, Factory Theatre

The flyer for Paines Plough’s Broken Biscuits has a whiff of quaint about it: the cosy-sounding title; the way it describes itself as “hilarious and heart-warming”; the presence of songs.

But Tom Wells’s new play is far from saccharine. This character-driven production bounces off the walls of its garden-shed set with energy embodied by its irrepressible protagonist Megan.

This coming-of-age story by the writer of Jumpers for Goalposts tells of the friendship of gobby, overbearing Megan, shy geek Holly and sweet, nervy Ben, all desperate to reinvent themselves one summer.

Having been shunned at school, the trio can be themselves when they’re together in the shabby sanctuary of Megan’s shack. But Megan dreams of coolness, popularity and infamy when they start college, and bosses her friends into becoming a sex-obsessed, dirty-jeans-and-t-shirt rock band (possibly called Vom) by the end of the summer.

Coming-of-age tales are rarely original. As soon as Megan tells the gang they should stop being themselves in favour of being cool, you can guess how the story will end. But Wells’s play takes on this much-plundered theme with verve. His script is very funny, although – and probably because I’m scarred by memories of my own mortifying teenage years – these 16-year-olds at times feel too self-aware to be wholly relatable. They’re much less cringe-inducing than, for example, Channel 4’s The Inbetweeners.

The action takes place at Friday-night band meetings during the countdown to term time. A calendar clocking off the weeks stuck to the shed wall is an effective reminder of this time pressure.

During these summer nights, as well as having to learn to play instruments from scratch, the characters negotiate external pressures from families and boys. As with all coming-of-age stories, they grapple and finally come to terms with their identities.

We learn of their teenage turmoil through the terrible songs they write. These moments are played for laughs, but Ben trying to tell Megan what it’s like being a lad who likes to wear sparkly dresses in a home shared with protein-shake-drinking siblings is one of the play’s most memorable moments.

Holly, too, is an obstacle to Megan’s idea of coolness. She sings about the crush she is scared to act upon: bobble-hat-wearing Dean, who comes into her shop for a chocolate bar. And she is driven to panic when Megan puts pressure on her to be confidently sexy.

The young cast are excellent, heightening the comedy with their seamless handling of Wells’s rhythmic, quick-fire dialogue. Faye Christall has much to do as Megan and is captivating in this unashamedly brash role, showing impressive command of the stage and comic intuition.

A play about teenagers might well have explored contemporary issues such as social media pressures and mental health: but, although Wells keeps his script up to date by scattering in references to Pokemon Go, WhatsApp, Taylor Swift and One Direction, he weaves a story that’s essentially timeless – and ensures you leave the theatre entertained and uplifted.

Broken Biscuits was at Tobacco Factory Theatres on Friday, November 25 and Saturday, November 26. For more Tobacco Factory Theatres shows, visit www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com/whats-on

Pics: Richard Davenport