Watching 'Playfight', you’ll be transported back to adolescence: from opening the envelope on exam results day to competitive playground gossip. You’ll bump into former friends who exist only in memory (or your hometown pub on Christmas Eve) and feel at once grateful and melancholic that you’ve grown up a bit since then.
‘Playfight’ is a three-man drama following a group of friends over the course of 10 years, through their GSCEs to navigating their first sexual experiences and working out what they want to do with their lives. There’s Kiera (played with excellent command by Sophie Cox): the brash, over-the-top and slightly misguided northerner who recounts losing her virginity on a tennis court with close to no filter. There’s Lucy (Lucy Mangan): ditzy, Christian and somewhat secretive. Then, there’s Zainab, played by Nina Cassells: the headstrong, sceptical, intelligent lesbian who realises she has feelings for her friend. The whole thing plays out around ‘tree’, their playground meeting point, represented in Hazel Low’s gorgeous, simple set by a luminous ladder in the middle of the floor. The cast walk, climb and swing around it, as tensions unravel in the circle staging. Certain moments are so heavy, you’ll let out audible gasps. Other times, you’ll be laughing out loud, or sitting awkwardly in your seat as sexual tension feels palpable.
As years pass and scenes play out with a great, compelling pace, we see the girls grow in distance – summed up best by the scene where Zainab reads out a chapter of ‘Sapiens’, contemplating university, while helping Kiera to take foot pics to sell online. Towards the end, as the girls reach the age of 24, the story turns into a bit of a fever dream, taking sinister, manic turns. This is where the show is at its weakest, veering a bit towards cheesy territory. That said, this is by no means a sugar-coated coming of age drama, it’s got a lyrical punchiness to it all and characters so convincing you’ll genuinely want it all to work out well for them. Edgy, vulnerable and, at times, ruthless, ‘Playfight’ will replay in your head long after you wave the cast goodbye.