Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Ctrl+Alt+Deceit!
Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society.
Genre: Comedy, Musical Theatre
Venue: The Space at NIddry St (Upper Theatre)
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Aunt Jane is lonely so her niece Andy introduces her to the internet. However chaos ensues when the browser takes the naive Aunt Jane straight to a low-level drug gang who she mistakes for bakers and gardeners. An upbeat and infectious musical.
Review
Cambridge University have produced many top names in entertainment over the years. Sharp minds, wits and talent have together given us the likes of Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry and most of the Monty Python team. It’s a hot-house for actors, directors, writers and producers.
Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society’s latest offering is “Ctrl-Alt-Deceit”, a musical by Ariella Gordon. Andy is staying with her Grandma and Aunt Jane – the latter is a protective helicopter surrogate parent – always hovering – and is beginning to stifle Andy a little. Suggesting she broaden her horizons, Andy schools Aunt Jane in the ways of the internet and the silver surfer is set free – unfortunately Grandma’s old laptop (inherited from a dodgy acquaintance) contains a browser that takes Aunt Jane straight to the dark web – and a low-level drug gang – who, in a nice nod to “Breaking Bad”, she mistakes for cooking and gardening enthusiasts. What follows is a fascinating journey and an exploration of our relationship with technology.
The plot is full of delightful switches and reveals and some dark moments where the potential danger is real. Ultimately this is a feel-good piece that challenges the idea that the internet and social media is, well, social at all – and that we humans need real relationships – not just emojis.
The cast are uniformly very good – (they are uncredited on the press release) – but all have fabulous voices and deliver the choreography neatly in a small space. Andy drives the narrative nicely, Uncle has an awesome set of pipes and Aunt Jane a lovely warm persona that helps the comedy sparkle. The other ensemble members play various roles with neat quick changes. There are plenty of good gags and the numbers are catchy. There’s an extremely tight band who pump out the electro/pop fusion score – very funky indeed and guaranteed to make your toes tap.
Born out of lockdown, this infectious and upbeat show has already garnered laurels in Australia, as a top 3 finalist in Music Theatre Melbourne’s ‘New Works’ Competition in 2020. What we see here is a shortened festival version that works perfectly well. (I’m pretty certain it will resolve questions about Andy’s parents that aren’t dealt with here). It will be interesting to see its journey going forward – I predict a bright future – and Gordon should be rightly proud of this funny and thought-provoking piece and her talented creative ensemble.
