REVIEW: Veni Vidi Vici by Élise Black, Camden Fringe at The Hen and Chickens Theatre 17 – 19 August 2024

 “A light-hearted example of affluent teenagers in love triangles.” ★★★★

The storyline unfolds in the fictional Ambledown College, one of England’s most aristocratic private educational institutes, where six students are entangled in each other’s personal lives. The plot presents traditional college student problems, including hiding secrets from one another, a heavy load of gossiping, and flirting.

Written and directed by Élise Black, her vision was to exemplify what a boarding school would look like in the 21st century. The play is inspired by first-hand experiences and real people. The play’s title derives from the Latin ‘I came I saw I conquered’ which I think is a suitable naming convention given the bold characters involved.

A few references associated with the upper-class society were mentioned. The ones I liked the most were a Fortnum and Mason gift card, the reality TV series ‘Made in Chelsea,’ and taking a gap year after university to travel to Thailand and ride on elephants. I also sensed that a slightly forced British RP accent was used to emphasise the poshness we may automatically assume private college students have.

The split scenes made the action more engaging and lively by allowing us to shift our focus from one activity to another.  Watching all the characters develop throughout the play was enjoyable; however, two characters stood out the most: Cordelia Parker-Jones, played by Esther Carr, and Olivier Libreros, played by Raphael Bijaoui.

From my interpretation, Cordelia was the embodiment of a pampered, arrogant ‘nepo baby’ (someone who succeeds in something through the aid of their parents). The way this characteristic was brought to life was amusing - she constantly referred to her mum as ‘Mumsingon’ to which the audience reacted with laughter. When she walked, she was stomping around leading with her head. I particularly found it amusing when Cordelia mentioned that she found someone like Olivier in Madrid. One of the characters said that Olivier is French, not Spanish, and Cordelia replied saying “Same thing.”

I think Olivier was comical due to his sensitive nature and the fact he wasn’t very good at reading the room. His limelight moment was when he referred to The Beatles as ‘The Beatroots.’ Overall, I think Veni Vidi Vici successfully communicated the interpretation of a boarding school in the 21st century. It was an incredible play full of temperamental teenage motifs. Nevertheless, the final scene left us on a mini cliffhanger. I would have loved to see how the characters overcame the passive-aggressiveness portrayed.

Writer/Director: Élise Black

Esther Carr as Cordelia Parker-Jones

Paddy McMullan as Dougie Houghton

Christina Moonsam as Henny Dockerty

Edward King Thompson as Bertie Tomlinson

Helen Blight as Verity Garton-Rogers

Raphael Bijaoui as Olivier Libreros

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