What do you get if you cross Black Mirror with Little Shop of Horrors, combine that with a West End standard cast, the intimate settings of the Old Join Stock Theatre Pub, a great sound system and some of the catchiest songs about? You get ‘Be More Chill‘…. The stand out hit for theatre in Birmingham this summer.

I entered the tiny pub theatre knowing nothing about ‘Be More Chill‘, but within seconds I knew what I’d come to see. The set is TV screens on scaffold; which are cleverly used to move scenes and shift time. They set us up into the world of computer games, and we dive in head first once the show starts.

It’s a brave undertaking for producer Emily Susanne Lloyd, but one I am very glad she has taken. This show is huge, and seeing it in this setting felt special. It felt like we were part of something new and exciting, brave and daring.

James Edge has directed this musically wonderfully, using every available bit of space to get the most out of the actors, helped incredibly by Willam Spencers‘ choreography this piece doesn’t feel small at all. It feels BIG, and it moves at quite a pace.

The cast, led by Tom Dickerson as Jeremy are superb and throw themselves into all aspects of the show, which given its scale and where it is, does also mean helping with the scene changes. Dickerson plays a loveable geek, who just wants to be popular, but is it worth becoming popular and turning your back on your friends to achieve this? With the help of a Japanese pill that equips your brain with a Squip – in this case portrayed by the incredible Tommy Fouweather, giving us a touch of the matrix, Keanu Reeves but with superb vocals – that controls your thoughts, stops your saying the wrong things and helps you get the girl.

The show explores coming of age, anxiety, fitting in and seeing just how far people are willing to go to do that. But also comes with the message sometimes you just need to pop your trousers on and leave the house.

Mention must go to Jack Carr who’s vocals in his solo “Michael in the Bathroom” blew me away. Again seeing this show in this intimate space really made this song even more special. Jessica Lim vocals are out of this world and worth the ticket price alone. Callum Thompson as MD must have had the best time working with the cast. It’s great to see he’s playing live for the show too as this just add’s such a great element to theatre. Click tracks are great but doesn’t allow the cast to breath, so the fact that we have the MD in the room, even in this small space is great for live theatre.

Shannon Bourne, Steven Rostance, Maya Jade Frank, Alisa Erskine, John Og and Harry Chamberlain make up the rest of the ‘Be More Chill‘ cast, they all sound fantastic, and are all worthy of a mention for being outstanding in this review.

The cast of ten do not stop working for the whole show and really make this musical special. I felt like I had been part of something great that Friday night in the Old Joint Stock, and I urge anyone close to Birmingham, or if you have a car and are willing to travel to come and see this show. It’s a 5* master piece in musical theatre. Yes we have the big theatres of Birmingham, but do your bit for live theatre, support the Old Joint Stock and allow them keep creating magic.

My only negatives were I had to share a seat with someone else as the chairs were tiny! And after someone has done an INTENSE song, seeing them turn round the help with the set change jarred me slightly, I wish someone else had been able to come on to do that instead.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐⭐