A Political Cabaret.

The end of the week and Applied Theatre Level 2 students put on the first in what we hope will be a series of topical political cabarets in the Dolche Vita coffee shop. About sixty people came along to see what it was about.

Partly in response to the changing culture of Higher education, partly in an attempt to bring some immediacy to the way students produce work and partly to contradict the tired cliche that they just aren't engaged in the big picture any more - the evening had a number of a range of targets to aim at and for a first shot it seemed to hit most of them.

The material was inevitably mixed, but the pace, energy and commitment of the ensemble company meant that it was never long before a fresh gag or point was nailed and the investment allowed for moments of edginess and risk. There is no time for censorship if the joke's already been said. There was some stand out sketches. A smart cookery programme featuring Cameron and Clegg making a coalition curry, with Clegg struggling to get the cap off most the ingredients, before force feeding it to Vince Cable. A rap attacking the hike in tuition fees, a poem about the danger of occupying the centre ground, a Chilean Miners version of Big Brother and a piece juxtaposing suffragettes with 'McSlutskies' ladettes.

One of the real positives from the evening was that the audience seemed drawn from across the University community. Perhaps in future the material might be local as well as national and international? It could have some impact.

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