Off-Key – Bristol Old Vic

“The thing about being exceptional Sabrin, you have to believe everybody else isn’t.”

At a Birmingham grammar school bursting with overachievers, political meltdowns, and teenage delusion, best friends Sabrin and Ruqqiyah are free-falling to their futures.

Sabrin secretly prepares for a life-changing music audition, while Ruqqiyah orchestrates a symphony of her own – conducting the fall of a problematic teacher. Between Paramore, panic attacks, and increasingly chaotic schemes, the girls’ clashing priorities reach a crescendo that unveils a growingly strained bond.

Quick-witted and deeply heartfelt, Off-Key is a coming-of-age drama about Black girlhood, ambition, friendship and what happens when the person who knows you best, becomes someone you no longer recognise.