School Girls
True Colors Theatre
through March 8, 2020

School Girls or, The African Mean Girls Play by Jocelyn Bioh is a story about the goings on at a girls’ school in Ghana in the 1980s. The story is actually based on what went on when a young woman from America, Erica Yayra Nego, went to Ghana and competed to be named Miss Ghana and then go on to an international competition. It really ticked off the classmates who saw her as what the Brits might say as NQUT, which is not quite our type.”

Directed by Tinashe Kajese-Bolden, we meet up with 6 girls in the lunchroom. Lauren Richards plays the Erika in the show, and Ellen Ifeoluwa George comes on as the one who figures everything should be hers at any time. The other classmates are played by Isake Akanke, Brittany Deneen, Destiny Freeman, and Valeka J. Holt. The school headmistress is Charity Jordan and a former beauty queen who is there to interview prospective contestants is Kristen Jeter.

You can just imagine the raw competition taking place as some demeaning comments are made, some bullying, and slandering one another’s public image for the sake of advancing their own. The show runs a little less than 90 minutes, and the theatre is easy to get to at the Southwest Arts Center. Free parking, good seating, and plenty of nearby beaneries. More info at TrueColorsTheatre.org