I loved every second of this. Imagine a couple of hundred 50-somethings watching a very funny play and leaping to their feet at every opportunity to dance and wave glow sticks like they did in the 90s. One man kept climbing on the stage, but nobody minded. I danced in the stalls at the end of Mamma Mia, but not like this.

Raves R Us is the story of four bored and hopeless 20-somethings made redundant from Toys R Us who take over the closed shop and set up a secret rave club. Do you remember the days when you had to wait for a text to announce where it was happening that night? This is that sort of club. They do it for the joy, for the drugs, for the money, and for liberation. They are helped by an older, possibly wiser, certainly more stoned and definitely dangerous Dr Gonzo* figure. There is some hilarious business when they try, terrified, to find the bell on his imaginary door.

Directed by Mike Dickinson, the show was conceived and written by Adam Nicholls and Dickinson and produced by Trisha Duffy of Naughty Corner Productions. Nicholls also plays Charlie, whose existential despair almost leads him to suicide but drives him to rave instead. He inspires Gwen, a clever but nervous Sophie Truman, Loz, a defiant and determined Erin Martin, and Neil, a headbanging Connor Ryan. Together, they go in search of the true master, Ziggy, a Gonzo Joe McGhee, to realise their dream.

Raves R Us is described as ’immersive’. That was certainly true for the man who kept getting on stage and was an excellent dancer, but it was more audience participation than the ‘being led through a weird environment full of surprise’ immersion with which I’m familiar. And participate they did. I’ve never seen a show where a character asks an audience member to hold her hair back while she is sick in a bucket. And it clearly triggered lots of memories. The acid flashback scene where people turned into animals reminded me of a post-trip journey on the Northern Line back in the day.

Meanwhile, the music is extremely loud, to the point where I fear for the actors’ hearing over time. But it’s expertly mixed and will be familiar to anyone of the right age. Even I recognised it despite being 20 years too old and busy bringing up kids and paying a mortgage when rave was happening. And, of course, there were lots of drugs in evidence. Showers of white powder covered the stage – talcum powder I think. As it so often was.

The main story is quite short at an hour, so they have tacked on their Glastonbury ‘History of Rave’ show, starting with disco and moving through New York, Chicago, Manchester and the Haçienda, which gets due credit and a respectful adieu. Leon Fairey, a wonderful Bez-alike, and Philippe Noel whose breakdancing gets a round, also appear in the Glasto section. Running out at about 90 minutes, the audience would have been perfectly happy to stay for as long as they played the music. But theatre soundtracks are expensive, especially if the actors hear them and react. And the actors in this physically-demanding show must have been exhausted.

In addition, the production is technically complex. But, at Shakespeare North in Prescot, that didn’t hold the company back. I was told they only got into the building that day and had never played in the round before. Chapeau to them all.

By the time you read this it will be over, but they will bring it back. Gorilla in Manchester seems the obvious choice to me. You can follow them on Facebook at Naughty Corner Productions. I love that name, too.

By Chris Wallis, Theatre Editor

Main image: photo by Jack Ehlen.

 

* Dr Gonzo – Hunter S. Thompson’s sidekick and eminence noir in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.