Charithra Chandran, the British Indian actor who made a mark with her role in Season 2 of the popular Netflix show ‘Bridgerton’, delivers a powerful performance in her West End debut ‘Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon’ – on until the end of April in London.
Chandran navigates the complexities of some very stark subject matter – from anorexia and self-harm to sexual attack and bereavement – with a very assured and heartfelt performance. Writer Rosie Day has managed to very adeptly inject a light touch, with a nod to Taylor Swift and Britney Spears, in an otherwise very hard-hitting script.
“When you’re 14, it can feel as if your life is not your own. You’re at the demand of your parents, guardians, teachers and authority. Often it feels as if your voice doesn’t matter, let alone your opinion… I wanted to hand the microphone back to teenage girls. Their passion, their tenacity, their power that is so often squashed by society,” says Rosie Day of her one-woman production, teeming with girl power.
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She drew upon her experiences with the teenage mental health charity STEM4 to delve deep into teenage angst to draw up a solid set of “instructions” for young impressionable minds who may be struggling to cope.
The story opens in the wake of a tragedy, the death of a teenager, and the havoc that loss unleashes on a grieving family. Chandran as the protagonist Eileen is the perfect choice to take the audience through this coming-of-age saga, set within a sparsely furnished stage as a metaphorical teenager’s bedroom. A series of digital projections give insights into the other characters in the lonely teenager’s life – bickering mum and dad on the edge of a divorce, a flaky friend, dad’s new partner and her schoolgirl daughter. It is an effective form of storytelling, which at 80 minutes without an interval runs through some major life moments.
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Whether it is your own stormy teenage years or those of a teenager in your life, this play certainly has the ability to connect across generations.
