Bachelors of Fine Arts
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
My Bachelor of Fine Arts was in visual art, not theatre, but it was its own particular kind of hell at times, so I could relate to much of the material in this blackly hilarious musical about trying to get an education in the face of faculty failings and spiralling social chaos.
The script, written and performed by Hope Johansen and Riley Elton McCarthy, is both cry-laughing funny and just-crying sad, taking some unexpectedly dark turns which suggest that, while much has changed since I graduated, a lot has sadly stayed the same. The songs were the absolute highlight for me, however, crammed full of witty, whip-smart lyrics and catchy chorus hooks. Delivered to a basic backing track, the performers belt them out with boundless energy and never stop acting while singing, as can sometimes happen in musical theatre. I still have Milk Crate stuck in my head, and am desperate to hear the sad one about climbing the stairs in your platform shoes again. I could easily have listened to another hour of these songs and not got bored.
A few rough edges and some of the jokes being a bit too ‘inside-baseball’ for the average theatre goer are the only things holding this back from being an absolute slam dunk, but the sheer force of charisma and talent from both leads powers you through such niggles, and I can’t imagine anyone not having a good time watching this show, regardless of how familiar they are with Uta Hagen. I’m sorry if Johansen and McCarthy did have to go through such an absolutely shit time to find inspiration for the material, but out of a load of bitter lemons, they definitely made some great-tasting lemonade.
★★★★.5
