{"id":524897,"date":"2025-10-24T14:17:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T14:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/524897\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T14:17:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T14:17:13","slug":"starter-for-ten-birmingham-rep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/524897\/","title":{"rendered":"Starter for Ten – Birmingham REP"},"content":{"rendered":"

Book and Lyrics: Emma Hall and Charlie Parham<\/strong><\/p>\n

Music and Lyrics: Hatty Carman and Tom Rasmussen<\/strong><\/p>\n

Writer: David Nicholls<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director: \u00a0Charlie Parham<\/strong><\/p>\n

At first sight, Starter for Ten is a straightforward enough coming-of-age story with a love triangle, the culmination of which will come as no surprise even if you\u2019ve not read the book or seen the film. But under the surface, there\u2019s more, including coping with grief and learning to be comfortable in your own skin and with your own background.<\/p>\n

As a boy, a highlight of Brian\u2019s week is watching University Challenge each week with his dad, with whom his relationship is especially close. Brian is still in primary school when his dad dies, and much of what follows is in response to that shattering blow. At times of trouble, he\u2019s guided by an image of TV\u2019s authoritarian University Challenge host, Bamber Gascoigne, who, in an inspired writing decision, is played by the same actor as his now-deceased dad, making our glimpses into Brian\u2019s head all the more complex and intriguing.<\/p>\n

Now eighteen, Brian is off to Bristol University, where he finds himself pulled in so many different ways. A working-class lad from Southend, he has much in common with his no-nonsense Glaswegian socialist tutorial partner, Rebecca. But he finds himself drawn to the beautiful, if shallow, upper-class Alice, an ambitious wannabe actress, when they both try out for the University Challenge team \u2013 it\u2019s here that he makes his first ill-judged decision, though more will follow before the ultimate d\u00e9nouement.<\/p>\n

He becomes desperate to impress Alice, and his focus and grades slip. At the same time, he distances himself from his old life. Torn, it\u2019s no surprise that he pleases no one in his circle until he\u2019s forced to face his actions and his flaws.<\/p>\n

Stephen Ashfield brings us the reassuring presence of Kevin\u2019s dad, their close relationship evident. As the imaginary Gascoigne, who regularly pops up to guide Brian (albeit largely with comments of \u2018Correct!\u2019), he\u2019s a delight to watch as he guides and inspires Brian. Later, we see the \u2018real\u2019 Gascoigne backstage, one who is, of course, rather more distant and aloof. Ashfield pulls off all of these, with fine singing and dancing thrown in.<\/p>\n

Adam Bregman plays Brian, and we see his teenage angst clearly. Bregman shows us Brian\u2019s journey so that we always feel we understand his decisions, even when it is painfully clear to the onlooker that nothing good will come of them. Asha Parker-Wallace (Rebecca) and Imogen Craig (Alice) both make their professional debuts in this production. Parker-Wallace brings depth to Rebecca as she presents herself as no-nonsense while also sharing moments of vulnerability. The Act 1 closer, Heroes, is a powerful piece, hitting hard largely through the efforts of Parker-Wallace. And Rebecca\u2019s own journey is played out well. The character of Alice isn\u2019t as warm as that of Rebecca, but Craig does enable us to see her machinations, even if Brian can\u2019t, or won\u2019t.<\/p>\n

In full comedy mode is Will Jennings\u2019 Patrick, the failed captain of the University Challenge team. He\u2019s desperate to win, even as we can see his character is lacking. But he\u2019s not played totally for laughs, and we also see his vulnerabilities, especially as the team\u2019s first match is a rematch with last year\u2019s triumphant team from King\u2019s College, Cambridge (a wonderfully privileged turn from ensemble members).<\/p>\n

Mel Giedroyc brings two contrasting characters. Irene, Brian\u2019s mom, is struggling to keep going after his dad\u2019s death, and Giedroyc is pitch perfect, switching from comedy \u2013 with excellent comic timing \u2013 to pathos as she tries to come to terms with Brian\u2019s changing priorities. On the other hand, Julia Bland, Gascoigne\u2019s right-hand person, is a much scarier and direct character, striking fear into contestants\u2019 hearts as she oversees the preliminary selection process, even as we get to see maybe a one-sided crush on Gascoigne.<\/p>\n

And this is a strength of the show and story \u2013 all of the characters have flaws and redeeming points to their characters, preventing them from becoming two-dimensional. One can empathise with each.<\/p>\n

As soon as the curtain rises, we\u2019re on familiar ground as Lee Newby\u2019s set is decorated very much in a mid-1980s University Challenge style, with its straight lines, rectangles and shades of grey. This aesthetic appears in all settings in which Brian finds himself, reinforcing the importance of the programme to Brian throughout. The choreography from Alexzandra Sarmiento evokes the period (especially in the Act 2 opener, when Brian and the cast find themselves in a gym in shiny kits and leg warmers), while Charlie Parham\u2019s direction ensures the whole whistles along.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t need to be a fan of University Challenge to enjoy this angst-ridden, bittersweet and nostalgic tale of growth and change \u2013 its themes run deeper than that and are relatable to all who have experienced loss or been teenagers in love.<\/p>\n

Runs until 1 November 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

\t\t\tThe Reviews Hub Star Rating<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Book and Lyrics: Emma Hall and Charlie Parham Music and Lyrics: Hatty Carman and Tom Rasmussen Writer: David…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":524898,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[170433,170434,170435,855,138142,748,170436,170437,170438,393,4884,170439,170440,90974,170441,170442,170443,170444,16,15,170445],"class_list":{"0":"post-524897","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-adam-bregman","9":"tag-alexzandra-sarmiento","10":"tag-asha-parker-wallace","11":"tag-birmingham","12":"tag-birmingham-rep","13":"tag-britain","14":"tag-charlie-parham","15":"tag-david-nicholls","16":"tag-emma-hall","17":"tag-england","18":"tag-great-britain","19":"tag-hatty-carman","20":"tag-imogen-craig","21":"tag-lee-newby","22":"tag-mel-giedroyc","23":"tag-starter-for-ten","24":"tag-stephen-ashfield","25":"tag-tom-rasmussen","26":"tag-uk","27":"tag-united-kingdom","28":"tag-will-jennings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=524897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524897\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/524898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=524897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=524897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=524897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}