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alice-williamson
13th December 2011

My cup of tea

Review: UMDS Autumn Showcase- Not My Cup of Tea
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TLDR

Four out of five stars

Not My Cup of Tea has as its backdrop the estranged society of 1970s England – an idealistic and somewhat naïve group of young people who in the spirit of the blossoming ‘hippy age’ reject the mentalities and lifestyles of their predecessors. But this is a play as much of hypocrisies as of definitions, with no indulgent reminiscing of the years of free love and change, but a provoking personal drama of the consequences of living in a self-created ‘idyll’, to which much credit must be due to the writer and director Polly Goss.

The first half of the play was rather slow, and there was a slight confusion at the interval as to what exactly had happened. However, its presence was certainly not unnecessary through the successful and often amusing introduction to our central characters.

The first half also saw Merlin Merton’s beautifully made film which not only lit the play up through the power of another medium, but had moments of real artistic excellence. Generally the use of media was very effectively used throughout the play, and an excellent example of the power of music in theatre. And all this could not have been without the truly superb supporting roles of Sophie Ellerby, Joe Mellor and Laurence Williams as the darkly witty ‘Victor’ who realised and openly brought out the more philosophical elements of the play.

But the play’s real power is in its almost undefined nature – we may superficially be seeing the upheavals of a certain generation, but in its unrestricted philosophy the play’s messages are a powerful testimony to confusion of what it is to live.

Not My Cup of Tea ran at the Thaw Studio between 23rd and 25th November as part of Manchester Drama Society’s Autumn Showcase


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