New Boy *** TNT
Thursday 02 April 2009 14:07 GMT
Skins star Nicholas Hoult takes to the stage as a sex-obsessed schoolboy in Russell Labey’s adaptation of William Sutcliffe’s 1996 novel. He plays 17 year old Mark, an academically gifted but socially unaccepted sixth former who, in a decidedly confused way, falls for good-looking newcomer Barry without even realising it in this diverting, if slight, tale of adolescent angst and irrepressible hormones.
Through Barry, he realises his sexual fantasies – matching him up first with a succession of local schoolgirls, then with the married French teacher (a gem of comic acting from Mel Giedroyc), before trying to sabotage the relationship when he feels sidelined.
Through Barry, he realises his sexual fantasies – matching him up first with a succession of local schoolgirls, then with the married French teacher (a gem of comic acting from Mel Giedroyc), before trying to sabotage the relationship when he feels sidelined.
Labey’s swift production – and Hoult’s gangling performance - capture the embarrassed self-consciousness of pubescent insecurities as Mark’s fumbling attempts to get laid finally pay off. Some of the gags fall flat – and would even the geekiest teenager really be driven to practice with a milk bottle filled with chicken livers? But there’s more than enough humour and underlying truth here to make this short, undemanding show well worth catching.
Trafalgar Studios (2), Whitehall, SW1 (0870 060 6632 till 11th April (£25.00 – £20.00 Mondays)
Trafalgar Studios (2), Whitehall, SW1 (0870 060 6632 till 11th April (£25.00 – £20.00 Mondays)
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