Theatre review Humour turns to terror in study of exploitation

What a punchy play. Rebecca Jade Hammond has written a disturbing county lines drama that questions stereotypes of groomers, itemises insidious techniques of manipulation and considers the neglect that leaves children vulnerable.

- Chris Wiegand

But Hammond has also written a boisterous comedy about teenage girls who take feet pics for OnlyFans and share TikTok dance crazes and Las Vegas pipe dreams in a Swansea chicken shop. As the director Hannah Noone's well-calibrated, 75-minute production switches from humour to terror, the rush from a soundtrack with Charli XCX is replaced by gnawing silence.

Hot Chicks is the name of a WhatsApp group the 15-year-old besties Ruby and Kyla start with the smooth Sadie who walks into their fast-food spot and becomes what, exactly? She's too old for their friend group, could just about be their mother, but assumes both roles before becoming their boss.

In front of the pair, who can't afford a box of chicken and chips between them, Sadie flaunts her designer labels and brings in a bag of clothes as hand-me-downs.