Static, The

The Static, the well-titled play by the young Scottish writer Davey Anderson, is bristling with noisy, crackling energy. Performed by the adventurous Thickskin Theatre company, the play takes the familiar subject of disaffected youth and gives it a fresh gloss.

Mixing realism with stylized physical movement, video projection and comic-book highjinks, The Static tells of a fifteen-year-old, rebellious kid named Sparky (Brian Vernei) whose bad behavior is about to get him kicked out of high school. Poor Sparky, who suffers from the delusion that his thoughts are escaping from his head, wears earphones to keep things bottled up inside.

Trying valiantly to help him are a brisk, new-agey guidance counselor, Mrs. Kelly (Pauline Lockhart); a power-of-positive-thinking gym teacher, Mr Murphy (Nick Rhys); and his feisty and irreverent girlfriend, Siouxsie (Samantha Foley).

When Sparky's thoughts become telekinetic, he finds himself in a dilemma: should he use his powers for good or evil? Much as he'd like to zap his enemies and burn the school down, Sparky reluctantly decides to go the superhero route, with funny and surprising results.

The Static is youth theater with a satirical sting in its tail.