28 Jul 2025
What would you do if you suddenly found yourself in an all-singing, all-dancing version of normal life? Deborah Heath finds out how one man copes in the Company of Ten Youth’s latest…
Company of Ten Youth is a recently formed initiative to enable 17-25 year olds to shine. I applaud this move as there are so many opportunities in St Albans for school-aged children and yet, once a young person reaches 18 or so, they often have to play smaller roles in adult lead plays or musicals. Company of Ten Youth puts the focus directly on them and allows them to gain experience, continue to grow as performers whilst handling material that is actually written for their age group.
‘The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals’ by Nick and Matt Lang and Jeff Blim is absolutely perfect fodder for this company. It tells the story of Paul, an ordinary office worker who likes a simple life and hates musicals. However, one day, a meteor crashes into his local theatre causing almost everyone around him to sing and dance as they go about their daily lives. Paul and a select number of townspeople need to try and solve the chaos before it’s too late. It is a great concept for a musical with a laugh-out loud script and a truly joyful feel.
Elouise Wathen’s set was appropriately simple for the multi-location action and was enhanced by Winsome Chu’s lovely animation. Props by Grace Carson and Suzanna Cheek were in keeping with this vibe. The blue head goo seemed to have a life of its own but this added to the humour of the action. The focus for this production was on the cast which is absolutely as it should be for a fast-paced piece like this.
I’m going to make the controversial opinion that most musicals have too many songs. However, ‘The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals’ proves that quality, not quantity is the key.
Jeff Blim’s score is great with no weak links; striking the right balance between pastiche and celebration of the art form with some fun funky songs which sounded like they were a joy to play and sing.
“Show Me Your Hands” – the police number was my personal favourite. I was impressed with the signing and harmonising skills of the cast and the execution of the score from Christine Wakely’s live band.
While the American accents were of variable quality, this didn’t stand in the way of all actors giving great, committed and energetic performances and I wish I had space to celebrate them all individually. Almost everyone dual-roled and the audience were treated to distinctive voices and physicalities, no matter how small the part. In the spirit of collaboration, it would have been great to spread out the larger roles more equally amongst cast members as there was so much talent on the stage. For instance Neo Humber’s coffee shop customer showed their great flair for comic delivery.
Kasia Bainbridge was strong in the roles of Mr Davidson and Sam.
Lead protagonist Paul was played with power throughout by Rhea Pereira and yet the touching moments were equally well handled. Her scenes with Cara Kerr as Emma were a joy to watch – they were a great pair.
A shout out too for Issy Smith as Charlotte who gave an engaging and believable performance and Craig Dunham as General McNamara who showed a surprising level of heart for this harsher character.
To sum up, I was overjoyed to be in the audience for this production. It was a perfectly selected musical for a dedicated and talented company like this. I can’t wait to see what Company of Ten Youth give us a next year – if any readers are of the right age and disposition, I strongly advise keeping an eye out for their next round of auditions.
Well done to everyone involved both on and offstage and thank you for a lovely evening.
