At theatre festivals there are often two types of show; dark and serious theatre that achieves acclaim, and theatre that acts as the tonic. Often I come out of these antidotal pieces with a feeling that what is described as unpretentious is actually flimsy. However, Jet Set Go is possibly the finest tincture for serious theatre. The musical tells the tale of a group of employees on a plane, including the hosts, hostesses and pilots and their respective trials and tribulations on a flight to and from New York and the stay in between.This all sounds cliché, twee even, and it is not a musical that will be breaking boundaries. But it is perfectly, utterly, completely fun and does everything with a massive smile. With a wonderful original score and a charming script, it is a show that will leave you smiling, even if at times the fun nature of the show caused the cast to corpse.The musical by no means attempts to be entirely optimistic; characters do not all have happy endings, and whilst some of these are refreshing others feel uncomfortable (the story of the new air hostess ends on a strange tone that leaves one feeling uneasy.) Praise must also be given for the part of Richard, both to its actor and the writing, for creating a gay character that does not seem to have wandered on stage from Priscilla: Queen Of The Desert.Jet Set Go is not a show to go see if you’re looking for the best naturalistic performances at the festival. It is also not the biggest spectacle or the most breathtaking. What the show does is put a massive smile on your face, and for that reason alone it is worth seeing.
