★★★★★
A new musical debuting at Edinburgh Fringe, Level Up! takes us into a fictional universe to examine what it really means to win. Jo (Troy Yip), Raff (London Brunelle) and Bobby (Lyndan Trenholm) love playing video games together, but when they’re pulled into a virtual world, everything they know about gaming is called into question and they are suddenly competing against each other. Each of them is assigned a role: Jo is the competitor, doing whatever it takes to get to the top of the leaderboard; Raff is a builder, trying to save the world; while Bobby is the explorer, left to his own devices to figure out the game. Tensions rise as the group navigates through the world, threatening to break their friendship. Can they work together to escape back to reality?
The three friends are “helped” by the game’s Virtual Assistants, but sometimes their advice isn’t useful. They encourage Jo to create his own cryptocurrency, which eventually fails when it is exposed as a scam. To help Raff save the world, they recommend she charges people when they pollute the world, which makes her angry as although she will get richer, she won’t save the planet. It’s a cynical, yet unfortunately true portrayal of billionaires, who manipulate and profit off the general public.
A reactive virtual wall makes up the set, which splits into three parts that can be separated. The screen displays the games the characters are playing and gives us a handy introduction at the start. Created by indie studio Steel Magpie and inspired by classic 32-bit pixel video games, the graphics are amazing, and really make you feel like you’re in a video game. They even have little avatars, which we see when their character roles are revealed.
The songs are all unique, and there are some beautiful harmonies. Each character gets their own song where they lament about their struggles: Bobby feels useless as he has no quest, Jo wants to be rich and successful, and Raff feels hopeless about the world’s problems. Their voices are so versatile and powerful that if you close your eyes, it’s easy to believe you are watching a West End show.
Level Up! is a very polished show and the cast are very talented. It’s difficult to believe that this is its Fringe debut. If you’re a fan of Gigglemug Theatre’s work, you’ll love this show. It’s quirky, funny and entertaining, and absolutely deserves a bright future after the Fringe.
Level Up! will be performed at Gilded Balloon Patter House – Big Yin Stage until 25 August (not 11) as part of Edinburgh Fringe.
Words by Ellen Leslie
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