Image by Fringe Festival Perth
Reviewed by Emma Horak and Abigail Macleod
In just 50 minutes, Grow Up! tackles everything from love and leadership to independence and identity, whilst simultaneously providing a breath of fresh air and new perspective to the coming of age genre.
The play follows three friends: Ida, Teddy, and Elsie, who decide after graduating from university to go on a working holiday down south. Their hopes are to chase beers, raves, and other mischief away from the foreboding expectations and careers awaiting them back at home. However, after landing a job at Sandy Feet brewery and meeting a couple of eccentric locals, each is quick to realise that the trip in fact exemplifies all the doubts and secrets they’ve done everything to hide.
Most notable throughout the performance is an almost palpable intimacy that appears to permeate from actor and audience member alike. Between the cosy layout and staging of the Briefing Room in Girls School, and the bubbly, authentic delivery from the cast, Grow Up! is nothing if not genuine. Audience members find themselves becoming instant ‘friends’ with the cast – they are akin to the people who we’ve met, drank with, and talked with. The chemistry between actors on stage lends itself to natural acting, and the stage space was occupied comfortably by the small cast.
Despite being bookended by a contemporary soundtrack: containing tracks from Doja Cat and Sufjan Stevens, there is also a nostalgic beat to the play; like a memory echoed through a rail tunnel. This nostalgia transcends age, and is likely to be a point of relation for audience members young and old. Although the thought of graduating may seem far out of reach for so many, this performance reminds you to hold onto the present- and those in it- tightly.
Grow Up! Is presented by the University Dramatic Society.