Aca-ballad of a Uni Student: theSpace @ Niddry St – Lower Theatre
19th August 2024
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Established at the University of Sheffield in 2017, Steelworks are back this year to the Fringe and bringing a brand new show. Following great reviews of their Fringe debut in 2023, Steelworks aims to immerse the audience in all things university in the Aca-ballad of a Uni Student, as the audience is invited to follow the group through the trials of uni life.
The concept of writing an a cappella skit about life at university appears to be a good one from the outset but unfortunately the clunky dialogue, safe choreography and somewhat cliché script lets this show down. The songs themselves are well arranged and performed to a high standard, although during this performance some of the performers seemed to lack a little bit of confidence and at times, the vocal percussion was slightly overpowering but perhaps this was due to it being the first performance.
There are some nice arrangements and the harmonies work well. The soloists do a very good job of leading their songs however with such a small group it would’ve been good to hear each voice a bit more. Whilst many a cappella groups are now trying to tell a story with their songs perhaps in this case it would have been better just focus on what this group are good at and that is their super vocals. It does feel a little harsh to judge as it was the very first performance, but that is the life of the Fringe where you only have five shows to perform in the show’s run. Having seen Steelworks before they are certainly more than capable to perform these numbers and perhaps with more confidence and attitude this would draw the audience in even more. It is a good performance but just felt somewhat lack lustre.
For information and tickets click here.
AD – PR invite in exchange for a honest review.
Musical Manda 
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