Many of Choreomania’s scenes involved both romantic tension and animosity between the characters. Cameron Judge played arrogant, posh-boy Digby Bamford, who was often on the receiving end of eye rolls and evil eyes from other characters. Judge expertly showcased ‘lad’ culture, and worked well with Tilda Bilsberry-Grass and Cara Eckstein, who were typical ‘rah’ girls. The dynamic duo of Bilsberry-Grass and Eckstein worked to muster a lot of laughs from the audience with their pronunciation of ‘really’ (raaally). Each of these three actors provided comedic relief amongst the scenes of death, and excellently portrayed the stereotypes of their characters.
Harri Carpenter’s character, Emmanuel Barker Hemmingway, or Manny for short, first appeared to fit in with the previous characters mentioned. The beginning of the play portrayed him as another Leazes posh boy, however as the play developed, we saw his softer, less pretentious side. This was partly brought out by Abigail Waters, played by Georgina Abram, as they shared their romantic feelings towards one another. Abram perfectly embodied her character, who was book-loving, yet willing to speak her mind (especially to Digby). Both Carpenter and Abram displayed a good amount of chemistry, which made their performances more effective. The play also explored the different effects of grief, as we saw Carpenter portray the denial of his character for the majority of the play’s running time.
Jonathan Snelling, Martha Watson, and Olivia Barnes each acted as friends of Waters, with Snelling and Barnes conveying the sadness of someone leaving you behind, whilst Watson displayed a raw, justice-fighting side of grief. This trio produced compelling performances, leaving the audience with a depiction of how losing a friend may feel. University staff, Olivia Hass and Charlie Prothero, were used by Renfrew to make some digs at the welfare services within institutions, and Prothero’s extravagant dancing around the stage certainly caused some laughs.
The play’s production, was commendable, with each character wearing appropriate costume and the lighting/music adding to the elements of dance fever running throughout. Overall, the NUTS cast and crew put on an excellent show which they should all be proud of.
