"Geeks, Greeks & Party Myths" - October 2006

This show by the Citizens Young Company is described on the Citizens website as "An original piece of theatre drawing on classical Greek myth and teenage panic - what would you do if Medusa had just crashed your party?" The description was certainly enough to get our interest but we really had no idea what we were walking into. Even after seeing the show I'm still not sure... but I do know I enjoyed it.

The cast generated a quite electric atmosphere with their energy and with a large cast in the small Circle Studio their obvious fun was seriously contagious. Anyone who remembers the house parties of their teenage and student years will quickly recognise that this production has absolutely nailed what it's like to be part of it. And I guarantee every audience member left recalling their own tales of parties and 'Yellow Pages' moments.

The characters do at times tend towards caricature but that's all part of the fun and not at all out of place. The numerous "mini-tales" are well held together and all are entertaining in their own way with some of them very funny indeed. Performances are all good, but this is very much an ensemble so there aren't any I'd single out.

There are problems though. Although it does add a couple of nice touches, the "Greek" thing is a bit of a red herring that could do with either being expanded or dropped. Some of the dialogue struggles to be heard above the (admittedly excellent) soundtrack but I guess that just adds to the authentic party experience. At under an hour, although it doesn't feel incomplete I do think there was definitely room for expansion into a 90 minute plus format here.

But enough quibbling... this is a great piece of entertainiment and really conveys a mood and feeling across to the audience. Hell, even when I was that age I hated going clubbing, but by the end of the show I'd almost have been up for a night on the town myself. Great fun.