Until They Kick Us Out – YEP at Liverpool Everyman Theatre – 26/02/2015

I'm Satire - or, if you didn’t get your English GCSE, Taking the Piss…

Last year Young Everyman Playhouse stormed the new Everyman stage and took possession of the space with “The Grid”. This week they continue their path to world domination by forming their own political party, for which Until They Kick Us Out stands as a manifesto.

In last night’s post-show debate it became clear that, when you get them to really think about it, people in general – young and old alike – are not so much disengaged with politics as with politicians and the parties they represent - they’re all the same, and they’re all rubbish. How then do you convince someone who’s turning 18 that it’s worth registering and casting their vote when faced with the rhetoric and in-fighting that characterises the run up to an election?

This 90 minute show has grown out of extensive discussions YEP members have had about what politics does and doesn’t mean to them. Often theatre devised and developed this way can become episodic but YEP, under the direction of Matt Rutter and Chris Tomlinson, have woven their stories into a tapestry in which a very clear picture emerges. The performers have dug deep and uncovered individual experiences, sometimes funny, often painful but always telling, that enable them to connect the personal with the global.

These personal experiences punctuate and inform a narrative in which, scene by scene, the case for engaging with the political debate and making your vote count is powerfully made. Until They Kick Us Out injects the often dry subject of politics with YEP’s inimitable energy and makes for a genuinely thrilling piece of theatre.

The 33 listed performers appear as a chorus, and it is impossible to credit them individually, but there are a great many stand-out performances, and everyone will leave the theatre with a personal list of faces they will be looking out for in future.

There are some very witty scenes as the chorus explore political history and education, particularly in an almost Pythonesque mockery of the suffragette movement, and the use of strong movement and music has particular effect as the show builds to its defiant conclusion.

Special mention must go to the movement director Grace Goulding, who has choreographed the piece like a well-oiled machine, and to the team of YEP technicians for their high-impact sound and lighting work.

Until They Kick Us Out is guaranteed to deliver the tingle factor and to leave you wanting more, but hurry – it closes on Saturday night.

Postscript: UTKUO revives for 3 more performances on 28, 29 and 30 April in the run up to the election, which sees a cast member stand for the Wavertree constituency.

(N.B. This review is also published at seenliverpool.com)

Photo (c) Brian Roberts