A high-energy, genre-defying love letter to the 90s celebrating the fleeting intensity of a moment through the unfiltered language of dance.
Audiences know from the very first moment that this will not be a conventional theatre evening. Director and choreographer Christie Lee Manning steps onstage with handmade banners to establish what to expect: ‘I Made You a Mixtape’ is not a play. It is sort of a dance show. And it is definitely not a musical. What unfolds is a 90s dorm-room hangout where nine young women gather for one last, hella good night on the brink of a life-altering change.
The piece is presented by Response Theatre Company, pioneers of a hybrid method blending Meisner acting with movement theatre. The goal is for the performer not to focus on their inner world, but on their fellow performers in the immediate environment. With music as a scene partner, choreography becomes a living script that is never performed quite the same way twice.
The show unravels in episodic scenes, all within a non-stop party atmosphere. Live instruments performing on top of a 90s playlist make the environment incredibly vibrant, with Tom Kirkpatrick and Oliver Davies on guitar and drums. Each track underscores pivotal moments, with the cast rotating the spotlight to portray them through movement. These range from starting a dream job to checking into rehab, from getting married to the looming reality of an expired visa.
The set is a nostalgia wagon, scattered with memorabilia that has certainly taken those of us with a youngish perspective down memory lane. Girl band energy is in order. From 90s chokers to Green Day posters, the aesthetic strikes a chord with those who experienced the turn of the millennium. The ensemble recreates music videos and crafts fun moments in a DIY spirit, rummaging through all the small things inside boxes to dress up and find impromptu microphones. Beer pong with red cups, nineties board games, and old-school camcorders complete the collage, all ready for a choose-your-own 90s adventure.
What’s most striking is how fierce the dancing is. The cast includes Clair Gleave, Jennifer Kehoe, Katrina Lopes, Abbey Devoy, Amy Punter, Alexa Stevens, Lauren O’Sullivan, Maggie Trepanier, and Tatiana Ivanova. Each one brings their unique special sauce to the mix, and their performances are skilled and passionate. While their training is evident and the routines have a clear sense of structure, it is the unrestrained, freestyle energy that proves most infectious. Some command the stage with greater ease, but they are all a joy to watch, and the chemistry as an ensemble sizzles throughout.
Just like at a party, loud music muffles voices, carries laughter, and turns intimate conversations into collective dancing when the first chords of a banger explode from the speakers. The stage always feels alive, and the ensemble holds the space for each other, at times stepping forward as side-kicks during a solo, at times in the background and keeping the hangout atmosphere going.
The emotions showcased throughout the playlist go from joy to heartbreak and back again, sometimes jarringly so, and occasionally the performances verge on emoting. But the raw energy of these moments remains palpable, and the physical response to music and to one another feels immediate.
Participatory moments draw audiences further into the festive mood. A neon-lit crowd wave ripples through the seats to the sound of a soulful anthem you oughta know, while a not-so-random audience member is invited onstage to get a tattoo during Pretty Fly (for a white guy). A final routine brings the sixty-minute performance to a high-energy close, rounding off the experience with a playful, festive feeling.
‘I Made You a Mixtape’ is, at its core, a love letter to the nineties through the lens of friendship and the unfiltered language of the body. It resists easy categorisation, and that is where its strength lies. The show invites audiences to feel rather than define, and to let go to the beating pulse of music, shared memory, and the fleeting intensity of a moment you know won’t last. Come for the nostalgia trip, stay for the dancing.
‘I Made You a Mixtape’ ran at The Cockpit 6th-7th April.