REVIEW: Top Gs Like Me at the Royal & Derngate in Northampton deserves your attention

Some of the language and themes are uncomfortable.

All of the characters are flawed.

But that is the beauty of the production.

None of us are perfect and we are all wrestling with how we fit into the world. In an era of doomscrolling across the internet, we all run the risk of being lured into a fake world by beguiling larger-than-life characters who simplify human interactions and damage how we engage with people in the real world.

That very real spectre of how infamous internet influencers - you know the type - have become powerful role models for millions (yes, millions) is at the centre of Top Gs Like Me.

The production directed by the Royal & Derngate’s artistic director Jesse Jones is part of the theatre’s Made in Northampton season.

The Derngate auditorium has been transformed into a skatepark with audiences seated in the round and getting a unique view of the action on “stage”.

Daniel Rainford holds the show together as Aidan, a young man whose main ambition in life is to land his one big scooter trick, while trying to persuade his unrequited love Mia (Fanta Barrie) to date him. He thinks cash will help, so dreams up a barely legal scheme to make money and get the girl.

Over the course of the show we follow Aidan’s journey from a lovable rogue to an angry, bitter, misogynistic, violent petty criminal under the influence of an internet mentor Hugo Bang - played with ferocious menace and intensity by Danny Hatchard.

Emily Coates and Finn Samuels play teenagers who enter Aidan’s life and, in their own ways, bring out the alpha male in him. With serious consequences.

A special word should be reserved for David Schaal as the homeless alcoholic with a dark secret El Davo, who befriends Aidan and tries to keep him on the right path.

Schall’s character is the production’s moral compass. He’s the wise old owl who has seen it all, been there and done that. Schall himself is excellent and complements the otherwise young cast superbly.

And, without giving away any spoilers, there are no cosy conclusions. Just questions and further food for thought.

Director Jones has said: “It is provocative and painfully funny, bringing the addictive and dark world of social media shorts and reels onto the stage. I am so excited to work with this incredible creative team and cast to smash this inherently theatrical world out of our screens and into three dimensions, encouraging our audience to ask how the algorithm is affecting us all.”

I couldn’t put it better myself.

All shows are different, but this one will stick in your mind long after the action ends. It deserves a bigger audience, so I encourage you to get a ticket before Friday.

Top Gs Like Me is being performed daily until March 7.

Tickets can be booked by calling the theatre box office on 01604 624811 or by going online at www.royalandderngate.co.uk/top-gs-like-me.

The production is recommended for ages 14 and upwards.