Get in, loser. We’re reviewing CSE Revue’s “Mean gURLS”.
If you’re anything like me, you won’t have a clue what a revue is. I’d heard the term through advertisements of different revues on campus but could never define it. Was it a play? A musical? A comedy show?
The answer? Yes.
UNSW CSE Revue’s production, directed by Lachlan Blair, was a combination of comedy skits, songs, and dancing, which were braided throughout the “Mean gURLS” storyline. The main plot follows the iconic plastics – Cady (Zahra Hui), Regina (Jessica Zhang), Gretchen (Gretchen Savannah Haryono) and Karen (Elektra Belle) – as well as love interest Aaron (Ryan Chow) as they try to unmask the creator of the Burn Macbook.
Source: Amelie Ritchie
The show started in darkness, where we were introduced to the four voice overs (Gal Aharon, Steven Lin, Jessica Zhang and Rachel Trassari). The voice overs provided some of the funniest parts of the show, including ‘ASMR for the hard of hearing’, and kept the audience laughing between set changes.
The moment the curtains opened I was transported to a world of pink, plaid and plastics. Following an introduction from Mean Girls icons Janis (Arte Collins) and Damian (Eden Glass), the cast jumped right into a dance number. The production was highly impressive – the lighting and sound is reason alone to see the show. This first dance number was well choreographed and engaging, but felt slightly too long for me. I would have appreciated some more introduction to the characters and plot before watching them dance for multiple songs.
After the first section of the plot, the stage transitioned to… Pokemon? I must admit I was confused. It was only after about 30 minutes of the show that I realised this was simply the structure of a revue: one important scene in the overarching plot, separated by multiple, unrelated skits and musical numbers. Perhaps a short introduction to the concept of a revue could have prevented this theatre whiplash.
Once I’d realised the structure and settled into it, I enjoyed the production a lot more. I could focus on enjoying the comedy skits instead of wondering how they related to the “Mean gURLS” storyline.
Source: Amelie Ritchie
Speaking of comedy skits, they were quite funny. All the skits cleverly tapped into some aspect of Gen Z humour that everyone could recognise and enjoy. Some skits focused more on computer science jokes, which sometimes went over my head but always elicited plenty of chuckles from the crowd. The jokes I could understand, I greatly appreciated. CSE Revue really took the iconic Mean Girls storyline and injected it with their faculty’s personality to make ‘Mean gURLs’. The production marries concepts of coding with humour – something I didn’t think possible.
Despite the disjointed nature of revues in general, CSE did a good job in using jokes from their faculty to create cohesion with the plot that was woven throughout.
Source; Amelie Ritchie
My favourite skit had to be a parody of The Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’, where Elmo (Eden Glass) and his sidekick (Lynuel Fabella) sang about their favourite letter, ‘Letter B’. What first appeared to be an innocent song about things starting with ‘B’ soon became a progressively chaotic and hilarious breakdown of Elmo’s sidekick. Glass’ unbreaking joy as Elmo was as funny as it was slightly unsettling.
Another highlight of the production was the live band. If you’ve only watched band productions in high school, trust me – university bands are a big step up. The band swept through an epic Nintendo medley which left the entire audience smiling. There was one band member that sat doing nothing for most of the performance. Before I could guess what his role was, he stood up and delivered some stunning vocals as he sang ‘Still Alive’ from the game Portal. Overall, the band was fantastic. I especially appreciated their video game theme, which provided a sense of cohesion within the revue structure.
From the sets built with care and detail, to the upbeat and colourful curtain call, you can tell how much joy went into making this production. While I was initially confused by the structure, CSE Revue made me realise the laughter that can ensue when you embrace the chaos.
Runtime: 2 hours.
Director: Lachlan Blair
Assistant Director: Clare Chen
Producers: Jack Li, Jasmin Arnall, Felix Montanari
Cast: Elektra Belle, Jennifer Liana, Zahra Hui, Luis Bui, Sabina Wang, Jessica Zhang, Lynuel Fabella, Ryan Chow, Eden Glass, Jasmin Arnall, Sandeev Peter, Gretchen Savannah Haryono, Arte Collins, Lachlan Blair
Tech: Rachel Trassari, Lucy Huang, Kevin Mortimer, Clare Chen, Winnie Tan, Jade Williams, Jack Li, Haniya Nejeeb, Clea May Tobagus, Angelina Niu, Andrew Ni, Jigmey Dorjee, Justin Nonis, Nathan King, Orion Wong, Shayna Veloria, Yonathan Budi
Band: Jesse, Toast, Keetan, Nick, Will, Andrew, Liam, Jey