“Should Auld Acquaintance be Forgot” is exactly what student theatre should be: it’s fun to watch, and more importantly, you can tell the actors are having the best time.
Beyond that, “Auld Acquaintance” is an accurate representation of a student-like flat, and this is achieved by the authenticity of the script and actors, as well as the excellent tech, especially lighting, and stage design.
All actors were given moments to shine, but by the same stretch, they all shone brightly throughout.
Mica Anderson’s performance as Louisa was captivating and convincing. She’s the kind of friend that everyone has throughout uni, and more importantly, is scared of. Her sass had the audience in tears every time she spoke, and her one liners were delivered to perfectly.
Amelia Chinnock-Schumann’s Katie was an emotional character. A person blatantly in love with their best friend is such a common occurrence in real life and Schumann captured this perfectly.
Simon Parker as James was an excellent comic relief character – whilst the play is funny throughout, every single one of Parker’s reactions had the audience in tears, especially when he asked the two girls in a lesbian relationship if they were pregnant.
Grant Jamieson’s Isaac was equally hilarious – boldly wearing a kilt for the full length of the play, he owned the look almost as much as he stole the stage every time he spoke.
Alice Jackson and Clara Hallam both played characters referred to as “Phee/Fee”. It was very confusing, but the beauty of how close they appeared on stage, and the reconciliation of their relationship made this confusion of their names make their characters appear even closer. Additionally, scripts intentionally using similar names makes the whole affair feel more down to earth.
My only criticism would be that some of the deliveries of the current cultural terms such as “yah” and “tea” were beyond the realm of funny and into straight up cringey. With that said: 95% of the jokes absolutely landed and there wasn’t a frown in the audience for the entire play.
Overall, “Auld Acquaintance” achieves exactly what it sets out to do: it’s fun, it’s funny and it tells a down to earth and compelling story.
Verdict: ★★★★½
“Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot” runs until 1st November at Bedlam Theatre.