Groan Ups
Vaudeville Theatre, London
Writers: Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, Henry Shields
Director: Kirsty Patrick Ward
Cast: Dave Hearn, Bryony Corrigan, Nancy Zamit, Henry Lewis, Charlie Russell, Henry Shields, Jonathan Sayer
Groan Ups is a comedy stage show that follows five students from year two (aged six) and emerging teenagers (13 years old) to an adult school reunion some years later when they’re hitting their thirties.
The comedy follows a group of five students in different periods of their life (played by the same set of actors – Lewis, Zamit, Russell, Sayer and Shields), starting off as trouble-making toddlers in their oversized classroom and finishing at a school reunion. We have love-triangles, 90/00s nostalgia, sexual innuendos, slapstick comedy and so much more. It really was a fun show!
Every actor is brilliant in their respective roles and you can clearly see the type of person they are as a child and how they develop (or not) through the years and how school still has an impact on their lives. I can’t really pick a standout performance – they were all brilliant, and the chemistry was clear to see (there were definitely sniggers that weren’t part of the show!).
My favourite scene(s) was the business with the hamsters during the reunion, which had myself, and everyone else in the audience, in fits of laughter. Lewis is particularly incredible in this regard, it seemed that every line he had led to side-splitting laughter.
Groan Ups is a decent addition to Mischief Theatre’s collection of comedies, including the amazing Play That Goes Wrong, A Comedy about a Bank Robbery, Pan Goes Wrong and Mischief Movie Night, and I for one, can not wait to see what they have in store for Magic Goes Wrong next month!
The Humpo Show | Richard
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