Theater Review: Sleepova at the Bush Theatre

SLEEPOVA
by Matilda Feyisayo Ibini

The Bush Theatre has been on a roll of late, with acclaimed runs of new plays including Red Pitch, Paradise Now! and The P Word. This latest tale of a group of black teenage girls from East London continues that strong streak, further developing the Bush’s reputation as a community asset telling stories that resonate with local audiences while retaining their universal relevance.

Matilda Feyisayo Ibini’s play drops us into the lives of Shan (Aliyah Odoffin), Elle (Shayde Sinclair), Rey (Amber Grappy) and Funmi (Bukky Bukray) when they’re 15 and 16 years old and preparing to take their GCSEs. It opens at the eponymous ‘sleepova’, where we begin to get a handle on what makes their friendship group click, and the differing personalities of the girls as their chats lurch from light-heartedness to seriousness and back again.

Shan is the most ‘ordinary’ character, the in-between one who often appears the most sensible one. We soon learn that she suffers from sickle cell disease, and is nicknamed ‘Dracula’ by the others – her experience of her illness becomes more prominent as the play progresses.

One of those partaking in using the Dracula nickname is Rey, who loves being outspoken and saying things that are near the knuckle, with a habit for taking things too far and leaving the objects of her attacks outraged. At one point, when one of the girls takes offense to something Rey has said, she responds with “what, are jokes illegal now?” – most of those watching will have been familiar with teenagers like that. Rey also defines herself as queer, a point that initially seems only tangential to the plot but becomes increasingly relevant.

Funmi is the jokester of the group, and initially seems strikingly similar to Rey. We are quickly disabused of that notion, however, as her friendliness is always clear and she’s more willing to open up about her emotions and insecurities, as when she says that she wants to go to prom with somebody from the local boys’ school because she “doesn’t want to be a nobody”.

Elle, the final group member, appears to be very different to the others. A smiling, outwardly contented Christian, she enjoys spreading the message of the gospels and is a slightly naïve goody two-shoes.

Their sleepova takes place in a pit that takes up almost the entirety of the stage, with seats in three sides and a step down into the pit itself. It’s carpeted, with blankets, teddy bears, pillows and other sleepova parapherniala scattered around, and, while the set (designed by Cara Evans) helps place the focus on the interactions between the girls and feels natural, it does mean that the audiences view of some of the action is obscured if you have people sitting in front of you.

The action begins with the sleepova that begins to draw the girls into our hearts, as they light-heartedly josh with each other and discuss boys, parents and exams, but quickly move through other significant moments in a year of Shan, Elle, Funmi and Rey’s lives – their revision sessions, secondary school prom and more personal moments that come in the second half of this play.

While laughter dominates initially, the plot really kicks into gear just before the interval, with a stunning moment that shocks the characters and the audience. Over our drinks, we’re invited to consider how that event will affect the group and everyone in it – and the second half largely sheds the lighter tone to delve deeper into the vicissitudes of friendship. By the end of the year, the characters have developed from the raw teenagers that we witnessed at the start, to the burgeoning young adults that are beginning to see their own paths from life.

Plays like this, focused on a tight-knit friendship group, live or die by the chemistry of their performers and their ability to convincingly portray the kind of informal social interactions that such groups involve. Red Pitch, about a male group of teenage friends, was a big success in this respect last year and, if anything, this play is even more successful under Jade Lewis’s direction. The actresses triumphantly recreate the ebbs and flows of normal conversations with friends, largely helped by Ibini’s dialogue, though it does jar on one or two occasions.

Judging by the audiences reaction at the performance I attended, Bakray as Funmi is set to become a particular favourite of play-goers – she’s already received a Rising Star BAFTA award for her performance in the film Rocks, and here she presents a winning combination of a kind-hearted nature and sense of comic timing.

But it feels almost harsh to pick out just one of the four performers, with all of them contributing to the friendship dynamics at the heart of this warm-hearted show. Telling a story about vulnerable, real and lovable characters, it brings plenty of joy and laughs and the hint of shock and sadness that comes later on never quite undermines the initial mood. This play will send you home in a good mood, likely nostalgically thinking back to your own teenage years and comparing your experience with those of Elle, Shan, Rey and Funmi.

Sleepova is playing at the Bush Theatre in London until 8 April.

Christopher Day is currently a PhD student at the University of Westminster.