Ahh, Love Island. For over 50 hours every summer, millions of Brits sit in front of their TVs to watch conventionally attractive twenty-somethings live in a villa in Spain for eight weeks to find the love of their life – or to try and win £50,000 (or both). We sit and live vicariously through the people on our screens, picking up their catchphrases like “it is what it is,” “doing bits” and “got a text.” Which is what this musical is named after – it’s a parody of everyone’s favourite reality show, Love Island.
A must for Love Island fans
The musical bears a lot of resemblance to the show itself. The impression of the narrator, Iain Stirling, gets his Edinburgh accent and bad puns almost perfectly, and the actors embody the same characteristics and mannerisms as the general calibre of islanders on the show, making for very accurate impressions. The character of Dave, an older man who doesn’t really know what he’s doing in the villa, is by far the best, providing a juxtaposition to the rest of the cast of millennials.
7 Rings by Ariana Grande and It’s A Hard Knock Life from Annie are just two of the songs subject to Got A Text rewrite, with witty lyrics and interesting dance moves. The cast are talented performers, mastering singing and dancing just as well as they do acting. However the production of this show lets it down a little – the sound is a bit tinny and often during the musical numbers the music drowned out the voices, which detracted from the impressive cast. Some jokes fall a little flat too, but for the most part the show is hilarious and has the audience in stitches.
Got A Text: A Musical Parody is a must for Love Island fans or even people who hate the show – you just need to know the concept to enjoy it. Well written and well performed, the show gives you both your Love Island and your comedy fix, which is needed now it’s off our screens for another year.
