Connections 2025: Their Name is Joy Review
Written by Eleanor S for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Set in the summer of 2019 on an extensive farmland, Their Name is Joy follows a group of young farm workers as they come face-to-face with the realities of modern-day trafficking and slavery. Performed by the Nottingham Girls Academy Theatre Company, we follow a small group of young people who have been warned to work on their area of the farm and not to stray towards the woods. But when one of the group befriends a girl named Joy, they are forced to realise what truths their parents have been concealing and face their own prejudices.
I was lucky enough to see this play as part of the National Theatre's annual Connections Festival - a celebration of youth theatre from across the UK. Each year the Connections programme commissions a selection of new plays, which are then performed by theatre companies aged between 13 and 19. Each play is brought to life as part of workshops with the actors themselves, stemming from stories and issues which inspire and matter to them. Now in its 31st year, a select number of groups have been invited to perform at the National Theatre to celebrate and recognise the hard work of the entire team throughout the year. In the same evening, I was also able to see Saba’s Swim by Danusia Samal, which I have also reviewed for Theatre and Tonic.
May Sumbwanyambe’s play is engaging and sometimes intense, with a good balance of humour with more serious moments. The inclusion of music and rap in the lighter scenes added extra energy, which I very much enjoyed. The core of the story is in the friendship struck between Joy and the older teen, which felt authentic, and there was a commendable level of performance from the entire cast. Although the familiar relationships between each of the characters was sometimes a little vague.
The staging was innovative, with simple props, costumes and sometimes mime used to give a sense of the setting and the act of farming. I particularly enjoyed the scenes around a small bin fire, which added extra atmosphere.
I do think some of the plot and setting could benefit from greater clarity. It added impact that the reasons behind the characters’ separation are left vague but some more direct answers or clearer exposition would have helped me follow the emotional journey of some of the characters more easily.
Overall, this is a very strong and imaginative production, with just a few areas where the storytelling could be tightened to maximize its impact.
