SCHOOL GIRLS; OR, THE AFRICAN MEAN GIRLS PLAY - REVIEW

Do you remember what it was like to be in school? Jocelyn Bioh’s School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, making its UK debut at the Lyric Hammersmith, will remind you. Queen bee Paulina is detested by the rest of the girls in her friendship group when she is absent, yet somehow her self-assurance and manipulation mean that when she is in the room, they have no choice but to fawn at her. The play is set in a Ghanaian boarding school in 1986, our lead characters are between 16 and 18, and the world is starting to dawn on them. The younger characters are still reasonably carefree, but Ama and Paulina are looking out at what the world holds for them – college, or perhaps modelling, Paulina declares. That anxiety is a propulsive and very real undercurrent to the ‘teen movie’ surface, particularly when the girls audition for the Miss Ghana pageant that could bring them worldwide recognition.

Teen movies need talking about here, and in particular Mean Girls, which gets mentioned in the title of the play. Mean Girls sees Cady, who grew up in Africa and has never been to school, arrive in an American high school and have to learn the ropes sharpish. School Girls reverses the roles; Ericka, a biracial Ghanaian-American, joins the school from Ohio. Wealthy and fair-skinned, the other girls are drawn into her orbit and she instantly clashes with Paulina, and becomes the favourite for the Miss Ghana pageant.

You might expect a Cady vs. Regina showdown here, but what we get is more powerful, as it becomes clear that both girls are seeking what they need in Miss Ghana. Paulina, a poor scholarship student caught up in lies about her wealth, is looking for worldly success, whilst Ericka is trying to find her Ghanaian identity when her white mother has died and her Black father has rejected her. In the meantime, the pageant organisers are looking for a fair-skinned girl to give Ghana an edge in Miss Universe, which rejects Paulina but by emphasising Ericka’s whiteness also denies her the validation she is looking for in her Ghanaian identity. Both girls have been rejected by family; both are primarily looking for love they never had. And both, as we discover, would tear each other to shreds to get it.

It is to Bioh’s credit that School Girls manages to be both riotously funny and deeply affecting. The entire ensemble cast is brilliant, but particular praise must go to Tara Tijani as Paulina, who manages to be the worst person you ever met in school and the most pitiable at the same time; her use of skin-lightening bleaching cream is one of the show’s most devastating moments. Monique Touko’s direction is slick and accentuates the brilliance of the writing, whilst the transitions are energising and characterful. As for the ending – I can’t spoil it, but I will say that this is a play that will leave you thinking about race for a long time, more so when you know that it is based on what really happened in the Miss Ghana and Miss Universe pageants of 2011. All I can do is urge you to get tickets before this sells out.

School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play Is on at the Lyric Hammersmith until the 15th of July – tickets and info here!

{🎟 AD: PR Invite – Tickets gifted in exchange for an honest review}

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