Reviewer: Daniel Shipman

Upstaged Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

For a theatre so dedicated to amplifying the voices of young people, it feels appropriate that Contact have decided to re-open after their £6 million refurbishment with a show from their young company. After several years away from the building, it would have been easy to return with a gentle ‘welcome home’ piece and ease back into things – but after the past 18 months, CYC are feeling anything but gentle. 

A supremely talented group of young people.

Much of the sixty-minute running time is given over to dance, with choreography by Yandass Ndlovu, and there is no doubt that this is a supremely talented group of young people. Taking inspiration from sources like the rigid ‘hands, face, space’ message which has become ubiquitous over the past 18 months and the claustrophobia of being stuck inside for months at a time, the company conjure a retrospective of sorts to the political, health and climate crises that have been vying for our attention. 

As you can imagine, the mood is almost uniformly sober, but is punctuated by occasional glimmers of light in the form of short monologues reflecting on the lighter moments of the year. One breathless summary blending timelines of personal and political is particularly entertaining, whilst also making you realise what a saturated period of history we’re living through. 

The standard of young performers and theatre-makers in Manchester remains sky-high.

Whilst the individual sections are powerful, the show is, unfortunately, less than the sum of its parts, primarily due to a lack of cohesive direction which could have been provided with a little more central guidance from director Matt Fenton. With shows like this, there is a fine line to tread between allowing the company to explore ideas and express themselves and aiming at an organised final product.  

Despite this, it is heartening to see that the standard of young performers and theatre-makers in Manchester remains sky-high despite the limitations that have been placed on the industry – long may it continue.

-Daniel Shipman

Everything All Of The Time runs at Contact until Saturday 9 October.