Aberdeen Student Show sets sail once again for its 102nd year with ‘Ayetanic’.
The Student Show has been a regular occurrence in His Majesty’s Theatre since 1921, each show reflecting the culture and humour of the North-East. With all profits raised by its parody performances going towards local charities, with last year’s ‘Dirty Danestone’ raising £103’014.87. This year they’ve tackled the Academy Award Winning and Aye-conic 1997 film Titanic.
Students from University of Aberdeen, Robert Gordon University and North East Scotland College have rehearsed relentlessly to create this production in just four weeks, and their commitment and determination shines through in this fantastic show.
Meg Stanger plays our Aberdonian Kate Winslet; Rose Hill. Born and bred in the upper-classes of Cults, Rose craves the mither tongue of Doric. Locking horns with her mother and her boyfriend while struggling under the weight of an enormous hat, Stanger leads this production to success with beautiful vocals and perfect diction.
Our Jack, or rather, Oor Jock is portrayed by Logan McKerron. A young artist working for Fubar Eats, McKerron plays the lucky loon with a sweet nature. Jock slowly wins the haar-t of Rose with his questionable painting skills and his alluring native dialect.
Emmah Chibesakunda is our resident songstress within this year’s production. As Jock’s eccentric aunt Suki Sweetie, Chibesakunda astonishes with her knock out vocals, devouring every line of dialogue with gumption and attitude. Always ready to help her nephew, Suki attempts to distract Den Wood with her sultry tube of pringles before discovering the real threat upon the Ayetanic.
Cara Sutherland portrays Rose’s snobby and overbearing mother Mona Hill with a puffed up pomp that you can’t help but laugh at. When words turn into music while fighting with Rose about speaking English instead of the dreaded Doric, Sutherland keeps up with the quick pace with ease. She just wants what’s best for Rose and her family name after all, her son William Hill has left the family penniless with gambling problems.
Conor Mcgarry plays Den Wood, a character you would really like to take a long walk off a very short pier. Mcgarry plays the conceited Den with a sickening english accent and lots of flamboyant flourish, allowing for some great moments against Chibesakunda’s Suki Sweetie.
Suki Sweetie’s sidekick/nuisance played by Rhona Smith is the tragic Debbie. Smith brings some big laughs to this production. From singing out of key, playing the panpipes and hiding in the top bunk, Smith keeps the audience searching for her in full-cast scenes to see what she’ll do next.
Megan Cruickshank is our tiktok superstar and Rose’s sister Summer Hill. A student at St Margarets, Summer is the spitting image of the mother – vain and stuck up. With the accent straight out of Downton Abbey, Cruickshank has great line delivery and works well with Sutherland as her mother.
The utterly unqualified and out of his depth Captain Plook is played by Ethan Lumsden. Lumsden delivers some brilliant physical comedy as our clumsy and ill-prepared captain.
Sara Bowie and Rachel Green provide us with our classic aul’ grunnies, a regular role within any Student Show. Both have terrific physicality and alongside Mikey Innes as flirty pensioner Bert, they produce some hysterical moments throughout the performance.
In contrast with Innes’ lustful Bert, we watch Sam Allan as the hopeless Bill. Allan’s comedic timing and mannerisms are excellent, we watch as Bill evades the wrath of his missus after his night out in McNastys leads to more than he bargained for.
And finally, our beloved chavs Shanelle and Shardonnay played by Lois Norrie and Grace Mckinlay. These two work seamlessly together with bags of sass and entertaining dialogue. From loose limbs in their inflatable rubber rings to the near-endless options to have on top of chips, their scenes with other cast members only heightens the hilarity.
The Student Show would be nothing without its ensemble. They provide entertaining background storylines to watch throughout the production and represent some of the real characters of Aberdeen. A standout has to be Mikey Smith as a featured singer in the second act, with fin-tastic tone and ex-shell-ent puppetry skills, he sails through his musical number with ease. This cast supports their leads with stunning vocals and immense energy throughout music numbers and dialogue.
The Captain of the Ayetanic is Director Kyle Yeats with Sarah Dawson as his assistant directing first mate. From the mysterious banging from the engine room to the Lidl inflatable lilo, Yeats and Dawson have created a brilliant production, taking full advantage of the remarkable script and their talented cast.
Rhianne Armstrong and Matthew Rose make a superb team as Musical Directors, creating unreal harmonies and a powerful wall of sound that catches your breath and fills the theatre.
Kyra Rostron and Stephen Summers’ choreography takes this production’s energy to the next level. With first-rate formations, a sprinkle of Irish dancing and a priceless Act 2 opener, this team has created some seriously impressive dance numbers.
Shane Strachan and Michelle Bruce have written a brilliant show with quick dialogue and some truly outrageous moments. They balance the plot with sneaky references to the source material with the love and laughs of Aberdeen in the centre of it.
Aurora Scenic provides a beautiful set, reminiscent of Anything Goes, but paired with exceptional lighting by Lewis Todd and stage projections by Greig Dempster and Andrew Brebner, scenes are distinct from one another and prevent the stage from feeling stagnant at any point.
Aberdeen Student Show continues to be a love letter to the North-East. Creating a space for young people to experience theatre at its most intense while raising an admirable amount of money for local charities. With impressive energy and outstanding vocals, packed with delightful doric and maritime mayhem, you better hope there’s tickets left to board the Ayetanic as it’s not one to miss!
Ayetanic – Aberdeen Student Show is running at His Majesty’s Theatre, from the 19th-22nd of April 2023.
Get your tickets here –
https://www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/whats-on/ayetanic-student-show/
Theatre Scotland 
Leave a comment