Milk on the Side - A Barista Musical, Short and Sweet Theatre Review
Written by Liam for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
The scene was set in an unnamed coffee shop somewhere in Glasgow during tonight’s performance of Milk on the Side- A Barista Musical, which was produced by Short and Sweet Theatre and performed as part of the 2025 Glasgow International Comedy Festival. The show allowed the audience to join two of the shops staff, Amy and Callum, on an average working day as they navigated the highs and lows of working in hospitality.
It’s not uncommon for performers and creatives to find ‘a temporary job’ whilst they await their big break, and in some cases that ‘temporary job’ becomes more permanent than they had hoped, like ‘six years’ for example, which was the case of the shows main character, Amy, whose hopes and dreams of fame were being lost more and more each day amongst extra hot cappuccinos and smashed avocados on toast. Bubbly Amy, played by Claire Louise Roberts who also wrote the performance, is sharply contrasted by her moody co-worker Callum, played by Chris Honey, who is sick of spending day in and day out serving hipsters their alternative milk coffees for a wage that allows him to barely scrape by.
Although the space was tight in The Riding Rooms where the performance was held, audiences were seated at tables like they would be in a coffee shop environment with both actors moving amongst them throughout the show. Where this would have certainly added an extra element of interaction for some audience members, it would most definitely have caused problems for others, particularly those at the back due to sight lines, as the venue wasn’t an ideal space for this type of staging. Unfortunately, this combined with some issues with sound, an unset prop and a few line fumbles did give the production a slightly under-rehearsed feel at points.
Audience interaction was heavily focused during the one-hour performance and the crowd were more than keen to join in which Roberts and Honey encouraged and embraced wholeheartedly with one heckle leaving Honey in particular struggling to contain his laughter. The audience enjoyed the continuous jokes and anecdotes shared by the pair which kept them both engaged and entertained throughout, although at points this was at the expense of the plot of the show as at times it did feel slightly repetitive and lacking depth.
Honey’s melodramatic performance as Callum got plenty of laughs from the audience and Roberts’s natural and warm portrayal of Amy was easily relatable as she faced the plight of being forced to sacrifice her dreams in order to earn a liveable wage. Her original songs peppered throughout the production were both entertaining and enjoyable, not to mention the ‘Ukulele Solo ’ that caught me off guard and had me laughing out loud.
Overall, there is no denying the audience enjoyed the performance and both performers were able to keep them on side from start to end. It is also clear to see from her performance that Roberts has a love and connection to the production, and I have no doubt that with a bit more work and development on the script she could have a nice little show on her hands.
★ ★
