Another offering from the hilarious company, Mischief Theatre, in collaboration with Kenny Wax Ltd and Stage Presence Ltd, Groan Ups is a play marking the journey from childhood to adulthood, through the lives of five people; Moon, Katie, Spencer, Archie and Simon.
We first see them in yellow group of year 2, performing in their class assembly, we follow them to secondary school and then are transported to the year 2004 to see them once more at their school reunion. A hilarious tale of growing up, big personalities and big secrets, Groan Ups is a fantastically entertaining night out at the theatre.
"A hilarious tale of growing up, big personalities and big secrets, Groan Ups is a fantastically entertaining night out at the theatre."
The ensemble cast are all hilarious, working together excellently to bring to life each stage of their character's journeys. The set is amazing as the furniture adds an extra dimension of scale,and the whole show definitely comes across as a team effort. If I were to pick out one stand-out performance, Jamie Birkett was a prime example of stealing the show with only a few lines. Her portrayal as Simon's "girlfriend", glamorous Geordie/ French model, 'Chemise' was a masterclass in comedy and the way her and Matt Cavendish (Simon) worked together on stage was a delight!
The play highlighted the series of events that can shape and mould a person's life from such an early age. While it was light-hearted and fun, it also tackled some deeper topics and tried to highlight these, particularly through the character of
Archie, who makes a very difficult revelation to his wife Katie, in the final scenes of the play. While it was good to see topics addressed on stage that can often be considered "taboo" it did feel as though it was a bit rushed and 'easily' resolved at the end, however, I still maintain it is good to see an attempt to put topics on stage that would have not been possible, once upon a time.
If you have seen The Play That Goes Wrong, by Mischief Theatre, Groan Ups has a similar sense of humour, but more calm and low key. It has the trade marks of Mischief Theatre, with hilarious physical comedy (Walrus Paul springs to mind... not to mention all the poor hamsters), but it also had more emotionally driven moments and aspects of real life situations.
Groan Ups is on at The Orchard Theatre from Monday 1st - Saturday 6th November 2021, I definitely recommend getting along to see this one! It has heart, humour and hamsters... oh, such a lot of hamsters, what more could you want?
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