This performance starts outside Assembly Hall, where a blackboard instructs us to write our name on a sticker and wear it. Amidst the restless crowd there was some eye rolling and groans of ‘Is this going to involve audience participation?’ and ‘We’ll sit at the back.’ And who can blame them? We were then ushered into the theatre space, which had been transformed into a classroom. Needless to say, none of this helped the nerves.
Our zany, energetic ‘teachers’ Terry O’Donovan, Stuart Barter, and Clare Dunn could sense the terror invoked by the classroom setting and the terrifying possibility of having to speak. In smooth voices they assured us, ‘The rules are strict but the game is enjoyable.’ I must fault them however, for that was an understatement.
We followed the life of a chalkboard girl dubbed Jennifer. In the beginning she is an empty vehicle, with nothing more to her name but a ‘hostess badge,’ a badge of honour issued by her mother for making tea. From there we go on an imaginative journey. We follow her life, tracing her successes and failures so that soon enough Jennifer becomes a chalk figure full of merits. The cast have innovatively devised and choreographed such a simple and relatable concept to make it something quite magical. They enable us to travel on this exploration of emotions through the mediums of music and physical theatre, making it a full theatrical thrill. While it is rare to find a theatre goer that genuinely enjoys audience participation, rest assured that this play is not intrusive; beyond the odd name check, the audience participates together.
Irrespective of what age you are, the performance has the power to provoke and amuse you. The cast playfully manages to conjure up recognisable situations, from successful first dates to humiliating job interviews, subtly inviting us to reflect on our own triumphs and failures, no matter how mundane. Ten out of Ten is an interactive sensory treat, with singing, dancing, confetti throwing, pass-the-parcel playing, and pop-corn eating. It contains all the right elements to remind us that you are never too old to have some fun in the classroom.
