Review Roundup: SOUND OF THE UNDERGROUND at the Royal Court Theatre

Travis Alabanza's Sound of the Underground is now playing at The Royal Court Theatre. Spotlighting London's iconic underground club culture and questioning what it means to get your money's worth when it comes to art, Sound of the Underground brings together legends of the London Queer club scene through Saturday 25 February 2023 in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs.

The cast includes: CHIYO (he/they), Lilly SnatchDragon (she/her), Ms Sharon Le Grand (she/they), Mwice Kavindele as Sadie Sinner The Songbird (she/her), Rhys Hollis as Rhys's Pieces (he/they), Sue Gives A F*ck (she/they), Tammy Reynolds as Midgitte Bardot (they/them - as Midgitte Bardot she/her) and Wet Mess (they/them).

See what the critics are saying...

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Matt Wolf, London Theatre: And so we have Travis Alabanza's play, co-created with its director, Debbie Hannan. Equal measures celebratory yet also cautionary, a full-on knees-up rooted in both the pleasure principle and identity politics, Sound of the Underground thrums with deliberate, delicious impertinence.

Anya Ryan, The Stage UK: This is not theatre as we know it; this is an evening of party, celebration and confession. "Here it is, our play," they roar. Alabanza warps the theatre space into something refreshingly expressive. To make the play, the cast discussed with Alabanza and director and co-creator Debbie Hannan their thoughts on their jobs and what broadly mattered to them. The result is a piece with some big messages. At first, it is a show-and-tell exercise about the realities of working in the club scene; then, a beautifully outrageous performance that proves the power of their art. But there is real pain and trauma here, too.

Claire Allfree, The Telegraph: Each cast member is superb at what they do, although most discomforting is Chiyo, a trans man whose routine embodies the complexity of his post-op body as an object of personal liberation, voyeuristic fascination and means of employment. I loved Midgett Bardot, and Ms Sharon le Grande too. A mess, then, but not necessarily a drag.

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