Putting on a show, Marvel-style.

Directed by Alison Brie and featuring two classes of young people from a high school in Florida as they work through from casting to performance of two one-act plays this could have been twee, sugary and entirely vapid.

Instead, Brie brings what is easily the best of the entire anthology to the screen for a show which had me weeping (literally) with joy for basically its entire hour long run time.

The show follows four students who are at the heart of the two productions – two from each group. They are looking to put on a performance of specially created one-act plays developed by Marvel for high school students.

We follow these young people for three months and the show does a wonderful job of providing the context of going from casting to performance.

The drama classes are only possible because of a single teacher – Courtney Kyle –

who is one of those people you wish all young people could encounter because she is deeply inspirational, and it was through her initiative and her commitment any of this was even possible.

We start here with Kyle, who explains how the school comes to be providing drama classes at all. Previously a math teacher, she wanted to provide something different for her students and did the work to make it happen. There is a moment when she talks about how she saw her students grow when teaching math but now, as a drama teacher, she can see them grow in a completely different way.

The high school is one which caters to poor students and who, according to the teachers, might well be looking for a safe space away from homes which are not places where they feel they can be themselves.

However, back to the four students. Two of them are coming to the stage for the very first time – it’s their first drama class and first stage show. The show is about Ms Marvel and to see the passion and excitement from them, to hear them talk about how these characters reflect the lives they actually lead is eye-opening. My touch points are much older and I was so happy to see them find modern material which gets people going.

You can feel their nerves, their tentative presence in the room, each of them ready to bolt. We meet their friends and we slowly discover through some delicate and tenderly vulnerable moments how they come to this in spite of significant challenges in their lives. We’re not given an editorial which implies they’re struggling or somehow extra worthy of praise. Indeed, the edit left me feeling they were simply two of many with similar stories.

As the three months pass, we see their struggles, their triumphs and their challenges but most of all we see their growth and transformation. We see how these young people engage with the material and the process to become more who they are, how their confidence to be themselves soars and how they literally come out of their shells.

The other two are more experienced – they know drama works for them. Their play is about Squirrel Girl. My immediate response was ‘that’s a bit small time’ but trust me the students couldn’t have disagreed more. Doreen Green/Squirrel Girl comes to the stage with a tale about representation and acceptance and being kickass regardless of who you are that left me just loving the opportunities it offered.

Their stories are no less moving than the first two and Brie does a superb job of weaving them together. The episode shows us how they navigate their challenges almost without them realising they’re growing even as we’re cheering them on.

I can’t imagine the extra pressure having television cameras in the room must have added but I sat there cheering them on, willing their success and hoping for them to come out of the process victorious.

Verdict: I’m sorry, there’s really nothing to dislike about this episode – it’s about the most wholesome thing I’ve seen in 2020 and can do little more than recommend you watch it right away.

My rating: 10 inspirational teachers out of 10.

Stewart Hotston