Written by Harriet for Theatre and Tonic

Disclaimer: Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review. All views are our own

Nine Girls. One Dorm. Zero Filter.

On the 7th of April, The Cockpit in Marylebone invited its audience to attend a College Dorm Party, where everybody was able to relive the joy of the 90s and its pop-punk culture. Hosted within The Cockpit’s black box theatre, I Made You a Mixtape seated 170 in their thrust layout. The Cockpit can also seat 220 when the black box is laid out as an in the round theatre.

Produced and presented by Response Theatre Company, I Made You a Mix Tape transports its viewers back to right before the turn of the Millennium, opening the nostalgic, heartfelt production with the quintessential 90s Green Day track ‘Basket Case’.

Artistic Director and Choreographer Christie Lee Manning brings on placards to preface the show, which is not a play, or a dance show, not really...

So, what was Response Theatre’s production? Well, it was a hybrid of Meisner acting and movement theatre. But it is also exactly what it says on the tin, nine girls in one dorm having fun under their nine different given circumstances. The party guests all enter through the audience, and soon the stage is covered with red solo cups, a dress up box and a table set up for a game of beer pong.

The fusion of Meisner acting with choreography truly embodied the ebbs and flows of girlhood. As the performers treat the music as their scene, partner and the choreography as their text, the story emerges itself in real time, meaning no two performances are the same. Response Theatre gifted its audiences exactly what they had promised. I Made You a Mix Tape was 55 minutes of contagious fun. Each one of the nine performers captivated the audience, showcasing the typical trials and triumphs of throwing college parties as an opportunity to let loose.

The promising premise that “what you witness is truthfully lived, not acted,” lived up to the test as during the gag during Offspring’s ‘Pretty Fly for a White Guy’ where they make over one of the gentlemen from the audience hilariously almost missed his chair.

Each of the performers employed a brilliant use of the Meisner technique, which encompasses getting out of one's head by focusing on listening, reacting, and responding truthfully to the other actors. They were undeniably in sync despite portraying such different backstories.

One of the most magnetic solos to watch, however, was Clair not only as she dismantled the set’s intricate party paraphernalia but also as she held intense eye contact with Tatiana who after tonight would choose to come out of the closet.

Fiery soon-to-be single Clair flintily and ferociously celebrated the newfound freedom throughout the audience, by throwing pieces of costume like a cowboy hat into the audience with reckless abandon. But each and every one of the girl’s performances exuberated a sort of joyfulness which was truly infectious to watch, and their interaction with the audience uniquely involved everyone, eventually handing out glowsticks for them to wave in the last number.

Overall, the production from Response Theatre Company was an innovative portrayal of the emotional chaos that is nine different women coming of age during their last night spent in their college dorms. It is exciting to see what the company will augment into this unique production as they hope to eventually take it to Fringe. The soundtrack was accompanied by the company’s live drummer, Oliver Davies, and guitarist, Tom Kirkpatrick, and as the setlist does include expletives, it is recommended for audience members 14+.

I Made You A Mixtape played at the Cockpit Theatre on 6 April

★★★★.5

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