Drip

I can’t imagine that anybody has nostalgia for life in their early teen years. You’re an awkward bundle of nerves so tightly wound that you can’t make a smart decision if you try, and even when you do, you can barely look someone in the eye to acknowledge them. But there’s warmth in there, and Drip makes you remember not what it’s like to be there, but how sweet those moments felt. Needlessly saccharine and utterly adorable, Drip is a cute boost of nostalgia for a time long past.

Drip is sweet, nice, and nostalgic for a part of your life that nobody ever feels nostalgic for.

Liam is a boy in between. He loves Spiderman, but he’s fifteen and he’s getting too old for that stuff. He’s also getting his first crushes, as is his best friend Kaz. However she's less focused on that, and more on winning the assembly prize which involves winning a synchronised Swimming award. Only Problem? Liam can’t swim. As a solo show, the success of Drip relies a lot on the charisma of its performer, and Andrew Finnegan is drowning in it. With a young face and a voice that trembles enough to betray some nerves, he draws the audience in with a couple of songs and a few great jokes which has us sympathise with him.

The show isn’t quite perfect though. A lot of it is very rough, and there’s a lot of awkward pauses, namely when Liam wants to put up props. Which will involve the audience stringing along flags, holding pool noodles, and putting on Ponchos. It’s cute but it can grate after a certain point, and the dead time got more prevalent as things got more elaborate. Beyond this, the show is a bit rough around the edges – chords sometimes hit foul, some of the music can be repetitive, and the show doesn’t do a good job of projecting to all corners of the circular stage most of the time. These, however, are all nitpicks on a great hour of charming fun.

Drip is sweet, nice, and nostalgic for a part of your life that nobody ever feels nostalgic for.