We are the Brits on tourrrrrrrrrr

My favorite theatrical performance that we’ve seen through the program was definitely Departure Lounge. Walking into the very small theatre, I quickly jumped to assumptions that because this show was so small, it was also probably very bad. I was ready to sleep through a very boring musical, but not only did I not sleep, I tried really hard not to blink either. That is how engaged I was to this performance.
The one thing I loved the most about this performance is how easy it was for us to relate to it. The characters were our age and that made it easy to pick up the jokes that they made. The music in the program was probably my favorite. The lyrics were so catchy and the upbeat tone helped keep the audience alive. After we left the show, we were all singing “we are the brits on tour” for days and we still do. The way that the show incorporated RyanAir was also very funny to me. Since we were all traveling on a budget on the weekends, we picked up the joke about how annoying it was to fly with that airline.
I also really enjoyed that the group was made up of four very different guys. That gave everyone in the audience a chance to relate to at least one of them. And it did not hurt that they were all very pleasing to the eye. I loved seeing the scene pause every time someone would go into their own little imaginative world and break out into a melody. It reminded me of the day-dreams we all have when we’re in conversations, but are thinking of other things at the same time.
I loved that they incorporated actual problems that people face and have to deal with such as sexuality, family issues, and school. The whole play together was made for people to connect to and understand and I think it accomplished that goal very well. On top of getting all those messages across, they were able to keep the audience on the edges of their seats and singing along to the all the tracks.

-Lilia Gharibian
UC Riverside