The scene opens with two teenage girls in a bedroom playing an idle game of ethical dilemmas: who would you kill to save the world? Your mum? She would understand. A baby? Well, imagine all the other babies’ lives it would save!

We soon find their game is not so idle when their two friends crash through the door dragging a bound and hooded hostage (Quinn Duffy-Jenkins). Thus we are introduced to five well-realised characters: Mānuka, (Maddy Amosa) with diehard revolutionary leanings; Bindi (Jasmin Fisher-Johnson), a flirty, tender-hearted dreamer; Anushka (Bella Irving), a logical pragmatist; Max (Sorcha Tracy), a hilarious hothead; Billy, a sheltered, gormless rich kid, and the central question of their story: how far would you go for your ideals?

Directed by Lutz Hamm with Summer Jade Millet, this world premiere of Alex Medland’s award-winning play We’re Gonna Kill Billy explores environmental concerns, idealism, power, the role of the internet in the evolution of ideological extremism, and the question of how young people are to face a future bleak with global threats such as climate catastrophe and mass extinctions.

The four young kidnappers share the conviction that Edward Richard Huxley’s planned marina at Kāroaroa must be stopped because of the threat to the black petrels, and their abduction of Huxley’s grandson is inspired by the online activist group, The Shepherds, who are declaring World Mutiny Day and urging activists to conduct such stunts simultaneously all around the globe.

Radicalised by their fear of a dark future, the influence of The Shepherds, and their rage at the acceleration of global doom by the actions of privileged, greedy elites like Huxley, the girls’ inept, hopelessly naïve attempt to take back some power in their world seems driven by the notion that it’s all as simple as the theoretical game at the play’s opening: if we do this one awful but necessary thing, then the black petrels/the world, etc, will be saved, and that the noble end justifies the dubious means.

However, it transpires they’ve kidnapped the wrong grandson, and it becomes evident The Shepherds may not be who they claim to be. Huxley Snr (Stuart Devenie) is not taking the matter seriously and Mānuka’s mum (Ngāriki Ngātae) is getting suspicious. The police are closing in, and it suddenly dawns on the girls that they have committed an act of terrorism. Anushka’s epic meltdown is a credible and very teenage moment, as is Mānuka’s Instagram disaster.

The smarmy coaxing of the police negotiator (JJ Wellington) is another influence highlighting the girls’ naivety and their shrinking power in their world. The action veers between absurdity and horror as they realise the dire consequences unfolding for them, and the black and white solidity of their ethical rationalisation deteriorates into a queasy mess as they resort to desperate and shocking measures.

While at times the dialogue labours a point, such as the funny but perhaps unnecessarily lengthy debate between the girls and their captive about what the term “rich” means, the performers’ aptitude for pace and rhythm renders their exchanges with a lovely dynamism and the play maintains quite a momentum.  Solid characterisation borne out by strong, complex performances and engaging use of movement and space render this a compelling and highly relevant story.

As crystallised in Billy’s haunting epilogue, there is a sadness and a very real sense of dread at the heart of this tale. Woven through the blackly funny chaos is the awareness of the powerlessness of a generation up against an increasingly bleak future. It’s wonderful to see a youth theatre tackling contemporary and challenging ideas with such energy and vision.

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