Royal & Derngate Theatre, Northampton – until Saturday 7th March 2026
Review by Amanda Allen
5*****
Samson Hawkins new Production, Top Gs like me, takes us into a world of 2026 teenagers that is a mystery to many of us. The way this production immerses you into the sad world of toxic masculinity and tragic lack of self esteem that is felt by so many of the current generation of teenagers is brilliant. Don’t get me wrong, every generation of teens has their struggles, but in the current world of instant accessibility to so much toxic influence at the click of a phone button, it’s never been more frightening. In setting the production in a skatepark, the simplicity of the surroundings makes the depth of the story even more profound. Although aimed at a younger audience, I feel this play has a valuable message for all generations, if only in educating us into the reality of teen life in 2026.
With a relatively small main cast of only 6 actors, supported by an excellent ensemble, the story unfolds of a pretty normal, underachieving teen, Aiden, played by Daniel Rainford. He quietly appeared on stage at the skate park passing his time just skating and doom-scrolling on his phone, we are quickly shown into his narrow world of dead-end work and no hope of a better future. Aiden, who we are told has ADHD and Dyslexia, was portrayed so well through body language, costume and vocal language, his performance was just brilliant. Running his hands through his hair, scratching his groin, head down not really engaging with the world at large, he painted a fabulous picture of a lost teen, looking for direction in his life. The use of sound and lighting to immerse us into this world was exceptional and special mention must me made of the lighting designer Rory Beaton and sound designer Benjamine Grant.
Before long we see the initial appearance of Hugo Bang, played by Danny Hatchard, appearing as a bright and shiny example of what Aiden would like to be. Giving him options he would not have thought possible on his own, each at the cost of his normal, decent, moral choices in life. We are introduced to his relationship with Mia (Fanta Barrie) his best friend who has managed to escape the drudgery of a dead end life in Northampton by the prospect of going away to college. The way she gently tries to encourage him to break out of the downward spiral of his life was brilliantly subtle. The addition of the Posh, Rugby playing boyfriend Charlie (Finn Samuels) was inspired. Demonstrating the socio economic gulf between the perceived classes helped to highlight the lack of choice Aiden thought he had in life. This was further demonstrated with the introduction of Grace (Emily Coates) as a new love interest for Aiden, only for her to be unveiled as the sister of Posh boy Charlie, pretending she was a cool Skating teen older than her 14 years of age to have what she thought was going to be a bit of fun in her summer holidays. Strangely, the thing I picked up on from this relationship was that her parents had gone away and left her on her own at home whilst the downtrodden Aiden was alluded to be caring for his mother, was this an intentional comment on modern parenting differences between class’s?
Hugo Bang exploded into Aidens life encouraging him to dig ever deeper into a world that most of us do not want to see or even acknowledge exists sometimes. The Toxic masculinity that is promoted by a section of humanity that seems to have lost sight of the bigger picture of a good life for everyone at the cost of selfish, instant gratification. This is a worrying world I don’t want to be part of, that is engulfing a generation of teens who fear they are forgotten by society and have no hope of a better future. In making Hugo so big, bright, shiny, red and exciting we are shown how easy it is for lost souls like Aiden to be embroiled into this shady sad world of selfishness. Portraying Hugo in a flash red suit was an act of genius by the costume department, representing the devil incarnate. Set and Costume designer Rebecca Brower did a fantastic job of telling so much of the story through the visual depiction of place and character.
The voice of reason through all this was the tramp, Dave, played by David Schaal. That a figure that would normally invite scorn should be the one to provide the stable voice of reason through all this was also inspired. Although he is a down and out we are shown that he has integrity, despite being a drunk driver who sadly killed his own son, he provides a stabilising influence on Aiden, the voice of reason, of an older, wiser generation.
Described as a comedy, I didn’t find it very funny, there were some funny moments but overall, I would describe it a drama, with some comedic lines. In conclusion I would encourage anyone to watch this production, it opens a window onto a world that those of us from older generations need to know and try to understand. With brilliant staging, acting, writing and production this is a play that could easily transfer to any other UK city as the story is universal and very of its time. The writers insight into the life and language of the 2020’s teenage generation is remarkable and in telling this story we are made only to aware of the effects of lack of engagement and toxic social media of a whole generation.