BE MORE chill may be the title of Starmaker Theatre Company’s Woodley show, but laid back it certainly wasn’t.
The cast of 13 young performers injected high energy fizz to a musical comedy that tackles friendship, loyalty, and artificial intelligence.
Set in the present day and with superb musical accompaniment from a live band, Be More Chill followed the highs and lows of American high school student Jeremy Heere, desperately wanting to be accepted by his cohorts.
The show’s producer and assistant director, Vicki Widdis, said: “A lot of the themes resonated with our cast – it’s set in today’s world, and it’s all about their age group (11 to 18 years).
“They’re all very passionate about the characters, and the story.”
Be More Chill explores the struggles many young people face when trying to discover who they are and how to fit in.
If only there were a pill to make one cool.
In this show there is.
The Squip is a Keanu Reeves-styled ‘supercomputer made of math’ in capsule form.
Once taken, it ‘implants in your brain, using quantum technology to tell you what to do’.
It’s a pill to ‘make you cool, and make you rule’.
But there are consequences to allowing a computer to decide your actions, especially when it insists you put your goals before your friends, and through the course of the show Jeremy comes to realise that what is actually cool is to be a good friend, to be himself, and to stop worrying.
Across the board, the young performers in this production were animated, confident, and mature.
Max Davison as Jeremy, Aoife Rogan as his crush Christine, Alex Stewardson as the Squip, Charlie Kendall as best friend Michael, Oliver Widdis as cool Jake and Jeremy’s Dad, Findlay Pearson as Rich, Isabelle Harper as Brooke, Camila Tavares as Jenna, Ellie Burman as Chloe, Henry Underwood as teacher Mr Reys and Brandon, Jess Hilling as Scary Stock Boy and Frankie, Elspeth Young as Grace, and Emily Jones as summer all excelled.
As a group they masterfully tackled complex dance routines, witty sung dialogues, and took on scenes of teenage angst that would send many less confident young people running red-faced to hide in the school toilets.
They treated adult themes with grace and maturity, and picked up the show’s ironic humour to illustrate the funny sides of growing up.
Their willingness to give everything they had to make Be More Chill a success makes them some of the coolest kids around.
One teenage audience member was overheard saying to his friend at the end: “That was so good, and so well acted.”
Affirmation from your peers after a show well performed – well, perhaps that’s the best kind of pill.
The group’s next production, Fame, begins its audition process this week.
Workshops on Wednesday, May 1, Wednesday, May 8 and Friday, May 10, will give newcomers an opportunity to experience Starmaker Theatre Company without any commitment to audition.
Dance auditions will be on Friday, May 10 with call backs on Sunday, May 12.
To complete an audition form, and for more information, visit: www.starmaker.org.uk
