Groan Ups, Vaudeville Theatre, review: growing pains of the most painfully funny kind. The film recycles far too many jokes and it gets old real fast. From the parents of THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG comes a brand-new comedy all about growing up. It's a shame because the Duchess Theatre ( home of The Play That Goes Wrong, hereafter shortened to TPTGW) is very … Our Review of Groan Ups. But far more frequent are the small, insightful asides that tell a whole story in a single sentence: about a parent with dementia who “just faded away, like a picture left in the sun”, or an employer who is very sympathetic about mental health problems as long as they are “proper conditions like bipolar or drug addiction”. Charlie Russell as Katie in Groan Ups at the Vaudeville Theatre Credit: Alastair Muir. Grown Ups is a horrible thing that has been unleashed on the movie-going world. It’s a brave choice, too, to portray characters who are prey to bulimia and compulsive shopping – these are the addictions of middle-aged women with responsibilities, not the glamorous, wreck-it-all drug abuse that is more often the subject of fiction by and about men. In “Drug-Use for Grown-Ups,” Carl L. Hart, a drug addiction expert, argues that we misunderstand the way most people use illegal substances. All the cast excelled. Penned by the regular actor-writer team of Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, it proves fitfully enjoyable but is overshadowed by works that have ploughed the same theatrical furrow. Review by: Mark Shenton Joining Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (set in the fictional Hogwarts, beginning as Harry's son Albus enrols) and Everybody's Talking About Jamie (about a year 11 student at a Sheffield comprehensive school) now is Groan Ups , a new play co-written by and starring Mischief Theatre co-founders Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields. The three writers – Lewis as the lovably maladroit Spencer, Shields as the apprehensive Archie, and Sayer as the eternal outsider – are all good. Tap to unmute. If ambition were all, Groan Ups would get an A*. 4. Mischief Theatre has a good track record on this blog. Copy link. 2.5 stars GROWN UPS as you might guess, really showed what a mess grown ups can be. Grown Ups (12A) Verdict: Immature and unfunny Rating: If you thought writer-producer-actor Adam Sandler would never stoop lower than Little … The story inevitably builds like a drum roll to the scene with which it started, and a further conclusion that has happy endings, sad endings and not-endings-at-all – just like adult life. Grown Ups has all of this and an almost Austenesque insight into character – if Austen had written about period poverty, the trouble with fast fashion, a precocious 12-year-old who “operated like a union rep for the five youngest cousins” and a straight-talking, sauvignon-drinking asylum-seeker called Perla. August 17, 2017 | Full Review… The film recycles far too many jokes and it gets old real fast. Next they are sexually exploratory 14-year-olds forming emotional ties: in particular, the angsty Archie and the swottish Kate are both besotted by the ham-fisted, and hamster-destroying, Spencer. Instead of The Play That Goes Wrong, this is more a study of the life that goes pear-shaped. The piece depends heavily, in Kirsty Patrick Ward’s production, on its engaging performers. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here . Grown Ups is published by Michael Joseph (RRP £20). Related Items review “In real life when your person disappoints you, you have to re-adjust yourself – and not them – so you can keep loving them.” But should she adjust herself, or is he just a rotter? Rachel’s Holiday (1998) was about addiction (a storyline that echoed its author’s own experience of alcoholism); the heroine of 2006’s Anybody Out There is pole-axed by grief; 2008’s This Charming Man touches on domestic abuse; but all these novels are full of rich dialogue and laughs. Review - Groan Ups at the Vaudeville Theatre. (Not-much-of-a-spoiler alert: he’s a rotter, and the most thinly drawn character in the novel. ischief Theatre, who have become famous for exploiting theatrical mishaps, begin a year-long residency at the Vaudeville with a serious comedy about growing up. Groan Ups is at Vaudeville Theatre from 20 th September until 1 st December 2019. If ambition were all, Groan Ups would get an A*. Up Next. She insists on paying for everyone to get together because she has always been secretly convinced that nobody really likes her. 2021 UK TOUR NOW BOOKING! Groan Ups by Mischief Theatre. There is a plot; seems the five aforementioned stars used to play Middle School basketball together. Both shows have toured extensively, as has its Peter Pan Goes Wrong. Jonathan Sayer (Simon), Henry Shields (Archie), Charlie Russell (Katie), Henry Lewis (Spencer) and Nancy Zamit (Moon). Often imitated, Keyes is much loved for her page‑turners that tackle weighty contemporary issues with a light touch. At Vaudeville theatre, London, until 1 December. Watch later. ‘Is there a more outlandishly successful young company in Britain than Mischief Theatre?’ As the pages turn, we learn how the characters’ childhood stories have shaped their adult selves, and how life becomes harder to understand, sometimes, the more you know about it. To order a copy go to guardianbookshop.com. Vaudeville, London From age six to 30, Mischief Theatre’s engaging band of classmates bicker and play but rarely test the assumption that character is formed in childhood, Last modified on Thu 26 Mar 2020 08.27 EDT. Jessie is the successful owner of a chain of specialist food shops, but her personal spending is out of control. Its masterpiece, The Comedy About a Bank Robbery, has been in the West End for three years. Grown-ups playing children is not everyone’s cup of tea it seems as Mischief Theatre’s latest offering in physical comedy opens to mixed reviews. Groan Ups (Closed December 01, 2019) | West End - Buy tickets and see show information. Mischief Theatre's Groan Ups | Behind The Scenes. It’s a straightforward and lightly comic scene, each character playing their immutable role within the family. The warmth and empathy of Keyes’s writing shine through this tale of family secrets revealed. This was definitely a less funny offering from Marian Keyes, but I wouldn’t have minded the lack of humour if the story had worked better for me. “It wasn’t about the taste, it was about the feeling, chasing the calm, then the high.” Cara’s story is original, shocking and hypnotically gross, and only a writer with the warmth and empathy of Marian Keyes could pull it off. Instead of, Commenting has been disabled at this time but you can still, At Vaudeville theatre, London, until 1 December. Powered by JustWatch "Grown Ups” is a pleasant, genial, good-hearted, sometimes icky comedy that's like spending a weekend with well-meaning people you don't want to see again any time real soon. Soon Mischief will begin a … Growing pains: the cast of 'Groan Ups' enters adolescence Robert Day. Mischief Theatre’s ‘Groan Ups’ – review round-up. REVIEW: Groan Ups, Vaudeville Theatre London ✭✭ Julian Eaves 13th October 2019 Reviews Julian Eaves reviews Mischief Theatre’s first offering Groan Ups as they start their residency at the Vaudeville Theatre, London. The below is an extract from my review of Mischief Theatre's Groan Ups. Are we the same people at 30 as we were at 13? Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Grown Ups: The Sunday Times No 1 Bestseller 2020 at Amazon.com. Check that out here . Review: Groan Ups (Vaudeville Theatre, London) Darren Moss West End theatre reviews November 5, 2019. Jeremy reviews the Happy/Madison movie "Grown Ups".See more videos by Jeremy here: http://www.youtube.com/user/JeremyJahns The setting is a school room and we follow the fortunes of five characters as they move from pre-pubescence to maturity. If you're looking for a play to see in the West End this autumn, … She threw herself into work the day her first husband died, leaving her widowed at 34 with two young children. Cara is working in a swanky hotel, winning over difficult customers, binge-eating chocolate and making herself sick. That said, it depends on your sense of humour and some critics loved the actors and overall balance of stage action rewarding the entertaining show with multiple stars. And he does notice what’s going on with her, but he doesn’t know what to do. Do we ever grow out of our school crush? Which is a shame, because it would be fascinating to see how Keyes could make readers empathise with a narcissistic bully, if she wanted to.). About Groan Ups. Jessie is bossy and in control; Ed unobservant and a little dull; Cara chaotic and rather rude; Johnny a bit of a sexist … But Cara, it turns out, is suffering from concussion. Share. And, over an impressively catered palate cleanser of vodka and lemon sorbet, she starts spilling secrets that threaten to blow the Casey family apart. What Keyes possesses that many of her imitators lack is a passionate curiosity about people and an immersion in an oral storytelling tradition that makes her writing comic, convincing and true. Grown Ups starts at the end. Chapter two skips back to “six months earlier” and another gathering of the Caseys, with each subsequent chapter then leading us closer and closer to Sorbetgate and filling in the gaps to show how they got to be where they are. Info. More adventurously, however, Ayckbourn goes backward, rather than forward, in time. Groan Ups - 22 September 2019 Review "Both entertaining and a little irksome" It can be irritating watching grown men and women portraying little children, and the latest offering from Mischief Theatre is unfortunately no exception. It's all about the evolution of friendships that begin at school. Direct from the West End, following their smash hit success with The Play That Goes Wrong, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery and Peter Pan Goes Wrong, the multi award-winning Mischief Theatre return to The Lowry with their brand-new comedy all about growing up. Does school life determine our future? Free UK p&p over £15. They’re a genuinely heartening success story with an impressive work ethic and it’s a real shame that their new play ‘Groan Ups’ is fairly dreadful. I guess maybe I'm not giving this film any credit. Groan Ups review – school swots and bullies for life. Both of the group’s longest-running shows in the West End, The Play That Goes Wrong and The Comedy About A Bank Robbery earned a four-star rating, while the limited-run Mischief Movie Nights was awarded a full five stars at … Grown Ups is cliched, predictable and full of immature and juvenile humor. Charlie Russell as the earnestly ambitious Kate and Nancy Zamit as a snootily privileged rival are no less adept at showing that character is formed in childhood. Dennis Potter used adult actors to play warring children in Blue Remembered Hills, Michael Frayn’s Donkeys’ Years explored the comic perils of educational reunions and Alan Ayckbourn’s latest, Birthdays Past, Birthdays Present, suggests our destiny is determined in adolescence. Mischief Theatre was formed in 2008 by a fun-loving ensemble of students and graduates. Middling. Of course, each character is nothing like the role in which they are straitjacketed by the family. But the first iteration of Grown Ups made money (a lot of it) so now there is another one. In the longest final section, they are all 30-year-olds attending a school reunion. Shopping. Mischief Theatre, who have become famous for exploiting theatrical mishaps, begin a year-long residency at the Vaudeville with a serious comedy about growing up. The coach of their championship team dies, and THAT'S why they all get together at the lake house. Although it has been written by the usual team of Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, Groan Ups is something of a departure. It’s a mature piece of work by an accomplished writer who knows how to make serious issues relatable – and get a few grownup laughs, too. As you probably know if you've read my reviews before, I am a wheelchair user, so, unfortunately, the review has to include a mandatory rant about disabled access, sorry. Share. Mischief Theatre, the company behind the perennially popular The Play That Goes Wrong, has taken up residency at the Vaudeville Theatre promising at least two new shows and probably more.. A large and happy family is gathered at a birthday party: brothers Johnny, Ed and Liam, their wives Jessie, Cara and Nell, and various children from marriages present and past are enjoying an elaborate meal – some of them more so than thers. Unwittingly, it is also full of echoes. It’s a tenable thesis. Her first husband, who was Johnny’s best friend. A brand-new comedy for anyone who ever went to school. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Ed, meanwhile, is genuinely in love with his wife, Cara. It would be unfair to single out any cast member because they were all brilliant. Mischief Theatre, the Olivier award-winning company behind The Play That Goes Wrong, will take over London’s Vaudeville theatre with a season of new work from September.. The problem is that drama depends on change whereas this play argues that we mature without ever growing up. This was a family saga of epic proportions both in length of book but also in depth of shambled relationships and lives. They're the kind of people where, in the car driving home, you ask, “What was that all about?” There are duff notes – Keyes provides a “newspaper profile interview” with Jessie as a quick cheat sheet to her back story; Ed thinks clunkily about a study that “said that [bulimia] sufferers had similar dopamine abnormalities in their brain to people suffering from cocaine or alcohol addiction”. 'People don't expect women to be funny': Marian Keyes on Comedy women in print shortlist, ‘Marian Keyes is much loved and often imitated for writing page-turners that tackle weighty issues with a light touch. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device. Kids are well and truly back to school, and it's also true of the West End. Grown Ups by Marian Keyes review – comic, convincing and true The warmth and empathy of Keyes’s writing shine through this tale of family secrets revealed ‘Marian Keyes is … The play came to boil the longer it went on, as all good comedies do, and was also tinged with a touch of sadness and hamstercide. Groan Ups by Mischief Theatre. Read news, see photos and watch videos. Even so its insights, such as that Archie is born gay but too nervous to come out, are heavily signalled in advance. Grown Ups Review. Groan Ups review: The material is a crumpled mess, which director Kirsty Patrick Ward can't iron out | Daily Mail Online. After a toe-curling opening that resembles a drama school improvisation game, the play gets steadily better as it explores the way the patterns of childhood are replicated in adult life. We first meet them as playfully anarchic six-year-olds. Grown Ups is cliched, predictable and full of immature and juvenile humor. Vaudeville, London. 3/5. by Matt Wolf Friday, 11 October 2019. The Mischief Theatre season lasts until August 2020. “None of this was the way love was depicted in movies,” thinks one wife after learning something hurtful about her partner. Select Your Cookie Preferences. Groan Ups is the first of three new productions which Mischief Theatre will present during their recently announced residency at Vaudeville Theatre. Summary: Grown Ups, starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, and David Spade, is a comedy about five friends and former teammates who reunite years later to honor the passing of their childhood basketball coach. Unlike the metatheatrical mayhem of their debut The Play That Goes Wrong, Mischief's Groan Ups goes back to the classroom and follows five school kids at three different stages in their lives (ages six, 14 and 30, with the final scene set during a school reunion). Groan Ups is Mischief Theatre's best play to date. 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