Sherman theatre, Cardiff
Rebecca Jade Hammond’s assured drama about two girls groomed for drug trafficking switches between humour and terror

What a punchy play. Rebecca Jade Hammond has written a disturbing county lines drama that questions our stereotypes of groomers, itemises insidious techniques of manipulation and considers the neglect that leaves children vulnerable. 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 director Hannah Noone’s well-calibrated, 75-minute production switches from humour to terror, the rush from a soundtrack featuring Charli xcx is replaced by gnawing silence.

Hot Chicks is the name of the WhatsApp group that 15-year-old besties Ruby and Kyla start with the smooth Sadie who walks into their fast food spot one day and becomes … what, exactly? She’s too old for their friend group, could just about be their mother, but assumes both roles before also becoming their boss. In front of the pair, who can’t afford a box of chicken and chips between them, Sadie casually flaunts her designer labels and brings in a bag of last season’s clothes as hand-me-downs. Ruby’s eyes widen as she picks up a sparkly jacket – soon she and Kyla are trying on Sadie’s lifestyle, too, with the rewards of drug running.