An ‘Outlier’ is defined as someone who stands apart from others of his or her group, by differing behaviour, beliefs or abilities. This is an experience that many young people can identify with and it makes a fitting title for the 2017 EnsembleImpact schools tour. Directed by Kerryn Palmer, the show is a collection of scenes from New Zealand plays which embody the theme of ‘Outlier’. Palmer and KC Kelly arranged the show and Clare Kerrison has produced the tour which will see the four performers visit 40 schools around the country. 

The choice of pieces has been geared towards a teenage audience covering themes such as sexuality, disability, cultural identity and technology. The shows are customarily followed by a Q and A, and workshops are offered to schools who want to engage with the content further. Outilers also has several public performances throughout the tour.

As we enter the first public performance at BATS Theatre in Wellington we are greeted with a warm and casual atmosphere. The four performers invite us into the space from a bare stage. The headings of each featured play are presented on a poster board at one end, and musical instruments, various props and a wheelchair are scattered around the edges. Thanks to traverse staging we get to smile across at the other side of the audience, which includes two of the featured playwrights and a group of boy scouts who look rapt to be sitting amidst all the action. 

The scenes are merged together with fast-paced, high energy transitions and small musical links played on guitar or hand drum. The audience are confidently led through the nine short scenes which makes for an enthralling experience, ideal for keeping the attention of high school students. 

Physical performance is one of the strengths of this show with dance routines, intimacy, aggression and physical metaphor. Ricky Dey’s fight choreography goes down especially well with the scouts.

The first scene of the show is from Second Afterlife by Ralph McCubbin Howell and boasts a fun and impressive battle with plastic guitars. However, a scene about prison inmates half way through the 45 minute show is the third violent scene out of nine and this energy begins to grate on me. The extract from Manawa by Jamie McCaskill is no doubt compelling but in this context it ends up feeling simplistic and unnecessarily violent despite being well executed. 

My stand out piece is Henrietta Bollinger’s A Cripple Talks About Anatomy in which Hilary Penwarden renders a cuttingly eloquent monologue while the remaining performers use poetry and movement to mirror the themes of the piece.

The cast of Penwarden, Lee Ah Yen Faatoia, Hannah Kelly and Simon Paenga are all accomplished performers and each delivers a piece in which they take the lead and show off their skills of transformation. Paenga is a stand out at this: from embodying Bebo to Beyonce, he plays with sensitivity, strength and intelligence.

After the show the cast, director and the playwrights who are present all share the sentiment that Outliers brings to light often unseen identities. It aims to validate the experiences of young people who don’t fit the norm as well as encouraging students to understand and appreciate diversity. 

Outliers has already made an impact in High Schools throughout the South Island and will continue in the North until the 23rd of June, including two public performances in Auckland on the 9th and 10th. Visit youngandhungry.org.nz for more information.

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