I can proudly state I am not as accident prone as Kayleen and Doug in Rajiv Joseph's "Gruesome Playground Injuries", nor do I have a dramatic friendship full of falling outs, feelings and fights in hospital beds. What I do have is old friends, people I don't see every day but know we're there for each other. This play gets me thinking of how those friendships were built.
As the title suggests, this isn't an all ages affair - there's some gore and a lot of casual swearing. Juxtaposing a string of expletives, Joseph presents one of my favourite lines ever:
"I'm trying not to swear so much. And I'm moisturising. So that's what's going on with me these days."
It feels extra relevant right now, when moisturising might be the most exciting thing that happened all day.
This is a play I am fairly sentimental about; it's one of the first plays I read of my own accord. It's brimming with heightened emotions, a juicy read as a student starting on their journey. The characters are somehow endearing in their mishaps, as we follow them and their friendship from childhood to adulthood. A good read with lots to dig your teeth into - I thoroughly recommend!
Commentaires