Lyceum, Sheffield – until 11 September 2021
Reviewed by Alison Beaumont
4****
The first time back to the theatre felt quite strange but I was so excited to be doing something normal.
Groan Ups is a comedy by Mischief and is about the lives of 5 people Moon (Yolanda Ovide), Katie (Lauren Samuels), Simon (Matt Cavendish), Spencer (Daharmesh Patel) and Archie (Daniel Abbot) and follows their journey from their time at Bloomfield School at the age of 6 into their teenage years age 14 and adulthood at a school reunion and is around 2 hours 2 mins by the creators of “The Play that Goes Wrong”.
The characters are all typical of modern day classrooms Moon, the popular girl, Katie, the clever smart girl, Simon, the nerd, Spencer, the class clown and Archie the nervous child hiding his feelings. All actors played their roles brilliantly and performed their characters faultlessly. Throughout the performance I kept changing my mind on who was my favourite but they are all worthy of praise.
The first scene I thought was quite strange and when it first started I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy the show but I kept an open mind and was still laughing at the jokes and inuendoes. Personally for me the show really began after this scene when they were left alone in the classroom.
There was a brief part with the headteachers giving awards out which I felt was a bit flat but this only lasted a few minutes and gave the cast time to change into their teenage roles.
The final scene is the school reunion. There is a part in this scene where Paul (Killian Macardle) attends the school reunion and is at the wrong school and starts to act at being a lobster. I felt this was a bit over the top and wouldn’t have been missed if this was not part of the show. The character Chemise (Jamie Birkett) makes an appearance in this scene as Simon’s (pretend) girlfriend and is so funny, definitely a good addition to the show at this point.
This show is easy watching and so funny, just the tonic needed for everyone at the moment. The audience all seemed to enjoy it laughing all the way through. If you want a fun enjoyable evening this is definitely one to go and watch. The age recommendation is age 12+, my daughter came with me who was 14 years old and I would say that age 14 is more of a suitable age.
The next Mischief production at the Lyceum is Magic Goes Wrong starting on the 12th October and if it is as funny as Groan Ups the surely will be another one to watch.