Young & Hungry, Bats Theatre, reviewed by Adam Burgess (15) and Lynn Freeman (a bit older).

THIS is one of the best crop of Young & Hungry shows in its 16 year history – I reckon I can say that having seen almost every single one.
They get the tick of authenticity from Adam in terms of language, technology references, set, characterization and humour. The hard-bitten veteran critic, meanwhile, finds all three commissions to be absorbing, topical, surprising and beautifully performed and produced.
Song of Four by Sarah Delahunty is set in the near future, when a dodgy and highly addictive food additive has turned the human race infertile. The corporate that’s behind the additive invests in the ultimate PR exercise, also part reality TV show, to save the human race by finding young breeding stock, fertile youth who haven’t eaten the contaminated food over the previous five years.
The four teenagers Vicki (Miranda Webster), Ben (Oliver Humphries), Rupert (Taylor Frost) and Cassandra (Ana Harris) are far from compliant, but the stakes are impossibly high – if they don’t agree to repopulate the planet, will the reign of homo sapiens come to an end?  
It’s not geeky science fiction so just go with the flow.
Remember that old “sticks and stones may break your bones but names will never hurt you” adage? It was rubbish then and in these days of cellphones and YouTube, it’s even less relevant now.
In Sick! Antonia Bale and Ban Abdul take on bullying. Female bullying which is said to be often crueler than boys – more psychological, and while bruises heal, words do not. The script is full of pop culture references, and director Paul McLaughlin’s “flock of bitches” are unflinching in their roles, which involve some extreme language.
Nalini (Anisha Parshottam) is desperate to be part of the cool group, with the anorexic Fleur (Emma Haywood) and hard case T (Acushla-Tara Sutton) but knows full well that it is “not good to stand out”.  New girl Kilmineny (very confidently acted by Lauren Gibson) stands up to the queen bully (Alice Varcoe) and helps Nalini out of the role of victim. Revenge is sweet but can have consequences.
“Change is ok” – but it’s not without heartache. Eli Kent (The Intricate Art of Actually Caring) has based Thinning on his own memories of how it felt to finish secondary school and have to make a decision on what do to with your life.
Here six close school friends go apple thinning in Nelson straight out of school. There are crushes, fulfilled and unrequited, to be negotiated before all six head off.
Some have wanderlust, some are under pressure to go to university or into work straight away, some are dealing with unresolved issues in their personal lives, and there is anticipation and fear in equal measure.
Rachel Lenart’s direction is gorgeous, from the backlit mini-dramas to having her brilliant cast: Nicola Morine, Clare Wilson, Zoe Towers, Lewis McLeod, Oliver MacIndoe, Jack Shadbolt and Stevie Wildewood, create characters we take into our hearts despite the fact we know them for just an hour.
Their movements are fast and fluid and they  use and move the minimal set to full effect.
Song of Four, Sick! and Thinning are a great combo, short enough to see them all in one night.