M.Rock Review

24.06.2022

M.Rock is full of love, soul, and dance music.

The show follows 18-year-old Tracey as she finishes school and hits up nightclubs overseas before having to start a degree in nursing. When Tracey misses her flight home, her gran Mabel decides to go find her. What ensues is an absolute whirlwind of DJs, babaganoush, pashing, heart to hearts, and The Sound of Music.

M.Rock immerses the audience into such a visceral experience that you completely forget you’re sat in a theatre. A large reason for this is because theatrical elements are so interconnected that you cannot help but be drawn in. With lighting states that could transport you from a nightclub in Berlin to a hospital room, a completely curated sound design and intensely committed performers whose choreographed movements kept the audience on their feet the entire time – oh, and DJ Venus Guy Trap with the sickest beats that make you want to get out of your seat.

Every cast member in M.Rock committed entirely to every, single, element of the performance.

Milena Barraclough Nesic plays Tracey with such conviction that you empathise with a character who could easily be ridden off as an annoyance. She brings an abundance of energy to the show and executes lines of poetic monologue with flair.

Valerie Bader is an absolute icon as M.Rock. Bader also fulfilled the role in the show’s first iteration in 2014. There is no question as to why they brought her back. She is M.Rock. Bader plays Mabel/M.Rock with such intricacy that you devote your full attention to her whenever she is onstage. Her performance of ‘Scone’ could easily be a Eurovision contender.

The chorus, played by Bryn Chapman Parish, Darius Williams and Masego Pitso, do not go unnoticed. Each actor was able to completely transform between roles, sometimes within seconds. Their combined performances are a masterclass in active listening and comedic timing.

I loved seeing M.Rock for so many reasons. In the world’s new COVID-19 reality, the show emphasises the importance of going out. As well as the importance of dance culture, especially queer night club culture, in its ability to give marginalised groups the space to be free within themselves and forge their own identities. The show is also an important reminder that youth doesn’t expire. That it can be taken away from people and given back to people in the way we treat each other. That time is fast. That life is way too short to care about the expectations of others. That you’ve got to do the things you want for yourself. That you should always dance it out.

In so many ways, M.Rock is the Nan that I had growing up, but she’s also the woman she never got to be. The woman that I wish she could’ve got to be. The woman that so many women don’t get to be. That’s why I cherished getting to see it, and why I think other people should.

It is also absolutely hilarious, I cackled for almost all of the show. The music was so good it made me want to dance so much that in the foyer afterwards, I did. And it felt really f***ing good.

4 Stars.

Rhayne, 21 [she/her]

ATYP’s M. Rock plays at The Rebel Theatre until the 17th July. Buy tickets here.