“Seeking asylum…from Margate!” It’s an unlikely sequence of events which led up to this sentence, but I’m glad they were made. Set in 1999, ‘Hannah and Hanna’ grapples with issues which are even more relevant now – asylum-seeking and immigration, filtered through the eyes of two sixteen-year-old girls, with the help of some 90s hits. Hannah can’t wait to be a grown-up, while Hanna was forced into adulthood prematurely. A wonderful, unpatronising portrayal of the teenage girl, not scared to open a lid on the bottled fury and secret bliss which can hide beneath heart-patterned dressing gowns and pink headphones. I get the feeling this isn’t all Culture Clash can do ̶  they’re one to keep an eye on for next year.

Assembly George Square, until 30 Aug.
tw rating 4/5 | [Sarah Murphy]