Squealin' Like a Pig

Synopsis

This play focuses on the experience of young people in a town with few prospects. Chelsea and Shannon are best friends; Shannon has one boyfriend after another while Chelsea lives in a strained relationship with her mother. Chelsea ends up with local gang leader Micky. Eventually she sleeps with him. He is devote to Chelsea and, though this commitment is at times strangely expressed, there is no doubting his feelings for her. However Chelsea is striving for something better than this town and its boys can give to her and she ends their relationship. Micky is devastated and tries to win her back, even begging her to return at a club. At this club Asian boy Sidu has too much to drink and is sick on Micky's new boots. On the way home Micky and his gang in anger and frustration beat Sidu up, leaving him in a coma. He boasts about his exploits and considers the blood on his boots to be a badge of honour. Chelsea, however, is disgusted by his behaviour and agonises over her responsibility. She even spends time with Sidu who remains in hospital in a coma. Eventually she goes to the police and Micky is sent to prison. Because of this she experiences prejudice and criticism for turning her back on 'her own kind' and standing up for an Asian boy. Even Shannon joins in. In the end her mother's boyfriend, Colin, is killed by Micky's gang members and the audience are left considering the issues of racial tension, truth and personal responsibility. This is a play that truly reveals the tensions in multi-cultural Britain. Joy Hendry says "it's a stunning, sometimes heart-stopping theatrical experience, with something to say to everyone" (The Scotsman n.d.).