By Daisy MacCallum
This year’s Student Show was a high-energy production putting a doric twist on the classic rom-com, Love Actually. This year, it shone the spotlight on Cove, and the story followed the preparations for an April nativity production at an imaginary care home in Cove, The Buttery Bungalow. The plot featured stories of friendship, following dreams and finding love. Throughout the performance, the characters geared up for the Aberdeen Football Club versus Cove Rangers game and the passion for the two teams was certainly well-represented.
The production included a good mix of romance and friendship, while exploring concepts of letting go of love that is unhealthy (the show is humorous but also touching). Hugh Granite meets Hannah Clue and falls head over heels for her in the big Hugh Grant-esque romance of the musical; Finn Tree fancies Clare Holmes who he works for, allowing her to walk all over him as a result until he stands up for himself towards the end of the story. Love in the form of friendship is shown through Finn’s close relationship with his best friend Jess Dwyer, and the relationship between Old Mel Drum and Barb Dwyer, who provide a lot of the comedic relief in the show. Finn and Jess’s close bond remains platonic even after Finn is let down by Clare. Typically, I find that best friends in rom-coms usually end up together when the initial romance does not work out, so it was a refreshing change that Finn and Jess remain solely best friends!
As usual, the cast was full of energy and smiles. The show was full of witty humour about Aberdeen, such as repeated mentions of traffic at the Haudagain roundabout, which got lots of sniggers from the audience; there was even a song dedicated to the traffic situation at the start of act two! An unforgettable moment was Hugh Granite performing a bit of the Prime Minister’s dance from Love Actually – a good way to start the show and set the tone! Other highlights included a song entitled ‘We Da Wint The Bus Gates’ and the inclusion of mascots representing Aberdeen Football Club and Cove Rangers, who entered the stage to western-style music to have brawls. This feature was fun, and the joy in the room grew tangibly every time they entered the stage! Old Mel Drum and Barb Dwyer again were two particularly funny characters, and in true Student Show-style, the show was full of very creative North-East-inspired names, such as these. Overall, the show was a loving tribute to Aberdeen and its local culture.
I want to also take a moment to praise the merchandise – such as the Cove, Actually keyrings, which will appeal to people from Cove and the surrounding areas. I look forward to seeing what they perform next year!
