About the Play:

Girls Like That was named Best Play for Young Audiences at the 2015 Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards.

Girls Like That is a full-length drama by Evan Placey. What would you do if a naked photograph of you went viral and you couldn't stop it, couldn't stop the rumours from going wild, and everyone formed an opinion of you based on that photo? Girls Like That is an urgent and explosive play that explores body image, cyber-bullying and the pressures on young people today in the wake of advancing technology.

Girls Like That explores gender equality, self-image, modern female friendship, and the pressures on today's digital generation. Buzz. Click. Pop. Flash. A text. An email. A message. When a naked photograph of Scarlett circulates around a school and goes viral, she becomes the centre of attention – but for all the wrong reasons. While rumours spread across smartphones like wildfire, the battle lines are drawn. It is girl against girl and everyone forms an opinion. Her reputation becomes toxic, threatening to shatter the clique of girls she has grown up with. But how long can Scarlett remain silent? And why isn't it the same for boys? Girls Like That is based loosely on the story of Amanda Todd, a 15-year-old girl from British Columbia who died by suicide after being lured to expose her breasts online.

Girls Like That was specially commissioned by Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Theatre Royal Plymouth and West Yorkshire Playhouse. The play was developed through work with young people from the three theatres and first performed by their youth theatre companies in 2013. The Canadian premiere was in 2016 at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. Girls Like That is perfect for any schools, youth theatres or drama groups looking to tackle a contemporary subject in a theatrically exciting way.

Cast: can be 6 to 24 young female actors or can include 1 to 6 young males

What people say:

"A show laden with wisecracks and wisdom that can engage both a teenage and adult audience ... The sequences are high-energy and edgy." — NOW Magazine (Toronto)

"Placey's eye-opening, often uncomfortably honest play... deserves to be widely seen by teenage audiences. And by their parents too." — The Guardian

"[tackles] strong, relevant issues... a well-written, immaculately crafted and brave piece of energetic theatre." — A Younger Theatre

"An urgent, powerful and haunting examination... I can see this play becoming a very popular resource for 16+ groups and that will be no bad thing." — National Drama magazine

About the Playwright:

Evan Placey is a Canadian-British playwright who grew up in Toronto and now lives in London, England. He is a graduate of the Central School of Speech and Drama, McGill University, and the Royal Court Young Writers' Programme and Invitation Group. He is a Creative Writing Fellow at the University of Southampton, and also runs playwriting and theatre outreach projects for young people and adults across London and in prison.