If a play's title is to encompass its essence then Badnuff would be a hard-hitting hold-no-punches portrayal of a gang of street kids hanging-out, up to no good, talking in slang, and - because its theatre - learning life's lessons the hard way and teaching us (the privileged theatre audience) not to take any of life's gifts for granted. 
      And did Richard Davidson's Badnuff fulfil this promise? One can only reply partially, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact Badnuff has a lot more to offer than Davidson himself might acknowledge. This is not because the play takes on a life of its own, but because its promise serves mainly to distract us from its more interesting aspects.
      Badnuff looks at four delinquents attending a Pupil Referral Unit in North East London. Each teenager has a story to tell, and each is fairly forthcoming about his or her tale of bad behaviour - with the exception of new girl (Rachel Harvey), who is intriguingly quiet about her personal history. It becomes apparent that teachers Tom (David Harewood) and Maggie (Raquel Cassidy) are up to their own type of misbehaviour. When Maggie has second thoughts about their relationship Tom's shockingly vengeful reaction throws questions of morality into prominence, thereby challenging our presuppositions. Amongst the chaos we never really get to hear Jay's story. 
      The play begins very unpromisingly in a style so reminiscent of GCSE theatre studies that it requires a real boost to get to professional level. In the opening scene Jay is interrogated by her new classmates who are shining lasers on her and crowding around her. Their dialogue is punctuated by Jay's inner thoughts: I'm staring. Caught. Too late. Weighs me up: I'm not a threat, but thank goodness this heavy-handed story-telling does not last, and the play unfolds to reveal some exceptionally accurate character observations on Davidson's part which are complimented by some outstanding performances, particularly by the four teenagers. 
      Badnuff is a brave move by Davidson, who by drawing on his teaching experience captures youth culture very convincingly. His perceptiveness more than suffices to give us a piece of good theatre, but it is a shame that - rather than imposing a moral on the story as he does - he did not take the ultimate leap of faith by leaving things as they are.
Peggy Nuttall