‘Be More Chill’ review
‘It is this energy that truly defines Be More Chill: both emotionally charged and relentlessly fun. Grab a ticket - you will leave the theatre feeling uplifted in a brilliantly nerdy way.’
Be More Chill could not be more fun. A joyful testament to the struggles of adolescence, the cast and crew have honoured the tenderness of the narrative whilst still punching in a whole load of laughs and playfulness to light up your night.
This was a play with two main characters: Jeremy, an outcast boy played with real emotional weight and nuance by Arthur Hamilton, and the tech itself, which included some of the most technically advanced staging the Assembly Rooms Theatre has ever seen. The brilliantly retro marketing, created by Producer Harry Graves, promised a video-game infused extravaganza, and Production Manager Zac Jackson, assisted by Valerie Devereux, surely delivered. Through a brilliant light bulb back panel and lighting strips deployed across the space of the Assembly Rooms, Lighting Designer Jonathan Wilson-Downs, assisted by Alex Richardson, truly immersed the audience in an arcade-level of digital aliveness: it was simply joyful. This was only enhanced by Oli Fitzgerald’s brilliant sound design.
These technical elements illuminated a set that felt fresh in its use of space and tasteful digital iconography but also ram-packed with perfectly picked nostalgic details, designed by Set Designer Libby Simpson. This brilliant visual world continued with costumes and looks picked precisely to sell the archetype of each character, chosen by Costume Designer & WHAM Supervisor Charlotte Blair. Despite this all this elaborate tech, transitions between scenes and numbers never felt laboured, a testimony to a group of dedicated operators and stage-hands, all very well managed under the attentive eye of Jackson and Stage Manager Martha Warde.
All this technical brilliance paid off to create the perfect techno playground for this cast to play within – and boy, did they play. The heartfelt through line of this production was provided by the relationship between Jeremy and his friend Michael, played Elle McCloskey - a chemistry the pair played beautifully, navigating highs and lows with real heart and humour. Through both song and dialogue, Hamilton sold the real pain and struggle of Jeremy’s need to feel appreciated without ever losing comedic pacing or presence. McCloskey was a firm standout as Michael, charmingly playful in physicality when selling this video-game enthusiast’s more optimistic outlook, making her own moment of turmoil in the standout ‘Michael in the Bathroom’ land like a gut-punch.
Their relationship is thrown into turmoil when Jeremy recruits a supercomputer named the SQUIB, played with an immense charisma and menace by the brilliant Thomas Pizii, to help him get the girl of his dreams – Christine. Samantha Sinilong deployed a gorgeous mezzo-soprano voice and some hilarious physicality to truly sell us on why Jeremy would fall for the delightfully quirky Christine. Her moments with Hamilton were characterised by real charm that neither performer overplayed, staying grounded in the lonely humanity behind these larger-than-life characters. Indeed, the ability to balance the satisfyingly familiar aspects of these archetypal characters with the real visceral adolescent struggles lying not very deeply beneath the surface was the North star that all the cast followed brilliantly. Thea Jupe’s Brooke balanced an incredibly likeable stage presence with real earned moments of dejection; Ailis McConachie-Smith played Chloe with a delightful cattiness that masked a real upset; and Callum Ryan’s Father figure was hilariously lost in a pants-less existence, but Ryan never let us lose sight of the real parental stakes of his need to connect with his son.
Another stand-out in this regard is Moritz Afridi’s Rich, a bully turned ally in SQUIB-dom. Afridi was a brilliant semi-antagonist: delivering hilarious jabs and charismatic bad-boy vocal riffs without underselling the real anger evoked by a difficult home life. Afridi gave real life to a character who could have easily been an archetype. Similarly, Alex McNeice embodied the chill aura referenced in the show’s title as Jake, whilst always finding nuance in the sympathetic interactions Jake had with other characters, giving real complexity to this popular boy. Another vocal standout is Caitlyn Leung’s Jenna Rolan, who elevated the expository number ‘The Smartphone Hour (Rich Set a Fire)’ with a smashing pop-rock belt. When the SQUIB inevitably goes wrong, and Pizzi gets the chance to unleash the sheer force of his calculated physicality onto the whole school, Leung truly embued the gossip girl Rolan with a sense of genuine loneliness that sold the show’s stakes.
Balancing the tone of this production is no easy feat, at times brilliantly ridiculous, and at other moments genuinely moving; Co-Directors Beau Singleton and Sia Riley did a brilliant job at giving all their cast and crew room to play bonkers whilst honing in on the central themes of isolation and acceptance. Choreographer Catriona Eke kept the fun rolling on without ever distracting from the characters, showing a real deft hand at aligning movement to story. Her choreography was faithfully followed by Gracie Murray and Erin Simpson who round out the show’s fabulous cast.
Of course, no musical of this kind could work so well without a brilliant band, and Musical Director Katie Madsen did a great job assembling just that. The whole band transitioned skilfully between lively melodies and digital staccato to sell the jarring breakdown of Jeremy’s cyber fantasy, with Lucy Masterson’s saxophone and Laurie Andrews’ trumpet playing being absolute stand outs. The drums, played on opening night by Andrew Mullins, deserves immense praise for never letting his pace drop during such an energetic show.
It is this energy that truly defines Be More Chill: both emotionally charged and relentlessly fun. Grab a ticket - you will leave the theatre feeling uplifted in a brilliantly nerdy way. No matter how you found the trials of teenagedom, this show’s story of how social struggle can be relieved by friendship will work its way into your heart.
By Laurie Davidson.