Millennials is a pop song cycle by Elliot Clay. A song cycle is a group of individual songs which are designed to be performed together. Hence there isn’t a traditional narrative like most musicals may have, instead the songs here stand on their own.
The show is housed in the Other Palace’s Studio, which has been completely redecorated by Andrew Dexter. Expect an avocado stage with a trampoline, Monster Munch blankets, a ball pit, a dodgem’s car and tiny rubber ducks scattered around. The set design is every millennial’s dream come true, it reminds me of flicking through the Argos catalogue as a teenager and circling pink bean bag chairs.
The set really is sensational and photos do not do it justice. There’s also an immersive feel to the performance as the cast interact with audience members and sit amongst them.
Now this cast are exceptionally talented vocally, which is necessary for a song cycle. But it’s also essential that they bring a level of acting to each song to ensure they connect with the lyrics and bring their personality to the avocado stage. And this cast blew me away.
Clay’s writing is unbelievable, each song contains intensely relatable lyrics, for millennials and anyone growing up in modern society. One song will be heartfelt and touching and the next will have you bobbing along. And that is a testament to Clay’s writing – Millennials is full of variety and each number is distinctly different, which is no mean feat.
One of the performances of the night which stuck with me came from Georgina Castle with ‘Remember The Feeling’, the belts really showcased her powerful voice. Two songs with incredibly relatable lyrics were ‘Priceless’ and ‘Masterpiece’. Each member of this cast is exceptionally talented, their voices are all unique and when they come together it’s simply sublime.
Millennials is intensely relatable, a lot of fun and each song has an important message underlying it. You can tell the cast are having a ball, and this is the epitome of why brand new British musicals are essential, because they might just be a gem like this one. Also, I need a cast recording immediately.
{🎟 AD – PR invite – Tickets were gifted in exchange for an honest review}
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