Evan Burgess checked out the young casts slick production...
The
Cirencester College performing arts students put on a musical show with great
stage design, lighting and sound. This retro comedy set in 1971 tells the tale
of Michael Dork, who is named appropriately for his social status. Trying to
build a network between computers, he sees himself beaten back at every turn by
those who want his idea or just don’t like seeing him succeed. Played by Sam
Stafford, the character isn’t a natural communicator. The comedy and friction
comes from his need to rely on others to reach his goals when he is banned from
the computer room. Usually matters turn farcical as soon as he opens his mouth.
We find the
glamorous and sweet voiced Joely Barbour playing Michael’s love interest, and
(suspend your disbelief) chief geek. Will she however be able to withstand the
testosterone filled advances of bad boy Eddie, whose idea of a gift is giving
girls pictures of himself? We can only hope the good in human nature comes out
when the jocks and cheerleaders fall for peer pressure and stick a wedge
between the geeks friendship.
The version
of the show I saw was good fun and full of claps and cheers as the audience
congratulated the cast on each number. As with most theatre shows at this
level, there were a few more girls to make up the numbers than boys. This lead
to no doubt stylish ladies Olivia Raeburn and Lucy Soanes playing creepy and
respectively geeky guys. It wasn’t without a cheeky glint in their eyes when
they convincingly delivered laddish behaviour to their roles.
Shockingly
we discover that amongst the crowd of cheerleaders is a secret geek. Chloe
Smith did a good job playing both cheerleader and competition winning nerd
Samantha, who falls for dashing dungeons and dragons player, Marvin. Brad Clark
who played the role did a good job convincing us of Marvin’s love of sci-fi,
sporting some very trendy tartan trousers.
Though it
isn’t possible to name everyone’s good work, the spirit of the show was bright
and bouncy throughout. The team effort will no doubt stand the students in good
stead for future endeavours.
