Set when the UK garage scene was at the height of its glory,
I could have happily sat there all night long. It felt as though your best friend was filling you in on all the latest gossip in a nightclub toilet.
Nadia is about to start a degree in Business Management and is ready to have the summer of her life, partying with friends. Her boyfriend, wannabe MC ‘T’, comes to life as Nadia recalls both his distaste at her reading books with posh boys and their struggling relationship as they fight for separate goals. Nadia is about to sample the independence of university, filled with youthful optimism, and this is her time to shine. That is if her time to shine means selling ecstasy in a nightclub.
Filled with charm and humour, Nadia’s summer is re-told through the medium of garage music, the iconic tunes that shaped a whole generation of UK ravers, bringing back a nostalgic feeling for members of the audience whose teenage years were spent at warehouse raves in big cities. It’s funny to think that a time held wistfully in many people’s memories doesn’t seem that long ago. The audience chuckled as Nadia recalled her first caramel latte at Starbucks, a brand new coffee chain at the time and now fifteen years old. What a reminder of how much has changed since the early noughties.
The performance benefited from a simple but effective stage, enthusiastic cast and an excellent playlist with Martyna Baker’s angelic and soulful voice intertwining perfectly with music by DJ Gabriel Benn. Sabrina Mahfouz’s writing is exquisite, creating a continuous monologue filled with poetic twists and turns that kept the audience on their toes.
I was disappointed the show was only an hour long and after being fully emerged in Nadia’s life I could have happily sat there all night long. It felt as though your best friend was filling you in on all the latest gossip in a nightclub toilet. Outside the doors the music is pumping and you can’t help but dance along, but for that moment you’re completely immersed in the story. Both funny and thoughtful, clever and atmospheric, With a Little Bit of Luck is an enchanting piece of theatre with a dynamic cast that throw their heart and souls into the performance.
