By Ambar Madhok, Third Year English
Cherish the Orange returned to the stage for their third production, this time following in the wake of the Lionesses 2025 summer triumph of winning the Euros! The action follows the university’s women’s football team’s conversations pre and post matches in their final league of the year.
The play was very witty and tailored incredibly well for the university demographic who made up the majority of the crowd. The contemporary humour flowed throughout scenes, such as the touching on the changing forms of love language with the use of Instagram reels for example. Moreover, there were extremely strong comedic performances throughout, such as from Isabel, (played by Katie Mercer), whose timing was impeccable; never failing to create a bout of laughs from the audience!
Furthermore, use of physical comedy was brilliant throughout, such as when Alex, (played by Lizzie Kilbride), broke her foot. The cast interacted fabulously with each building on the hilarity of the situation marvellously.
At times it was slightly difficult to discern who was who due to the size of the ensemble cast, and this was despite each cast member having their surname on the back of their kit, as they were identified by their first names – leaning further into the football element of the show could have been beneficial, for example introducing each character pre match graphic style, similar to how the formation and starting eleven is shown before a football game. Moreover, some of the scene changes felt a little too broken, and it could have been nice to have some more interaction with the lockers during these. However, the soundtrack throughout was brilliantly selected, with a mixture classic football anthems, such as It Must Be Love by Madness, or upbeat features from the Sugar Babes, which boosted the energy, adding to the team spirit and feel-good nature of the play.
The atmosphere created was akin to that within a stadium, with the use of a university radio broadcast throughout announcing the team’s progress throughout, as well as the team’s off-stage chants. Moreover, this mood was extended by the adoring audience whose support was not unlike those created by fans within a stadium. A mass of cheering and singing emanated from the supporters throughout the performance; notable even before the lights came on, you could feel the crowd willing every player on. Some in the stands were even wearing the team’s kit (Cherish the Orange’s branded T-shirts). There was no mistaking this was a home match!
Tildy and Dulcie’s writing style is full of light-hearted humour, interspersing banter between the ensemble within some touching reflective monologues, such as Maggie’s (played by Kathleen Keaney) reflection on supposedly unrequited love after the interval, or Freddie’s (played by Bea Thomas), closing monologue which rounds off the play, touching on all the warm elements of university-based friendships. However, when addressing the more dramatic veins within Kick Off, the pulse was sometimes weak, with some of the significant incidents not being returned to or explored further despite having proven quite incidental at the time, such as with Lola (played by Lily Robinson) and Mia’s feud (played by Georgina Walker); the intensity of the scene was brilliantly performed by the two, however, the action quickly moved to the next group of characters, with their reconciliation not properly being seen to later; but these are the risks with a sizeable cast and many smaller plot lines.
Charles Hubbard
Erina Mannan
The closing of the show saw the use of what appears to be the company’s trademark, a wholesome projected montage for the audience to enjoy. We see interspersed clips of women’s football matches, amongst childhood images and videos of cast members and the creative team playing sports, and later watching an Arsenal women’s match, in true team-bonding spirit. This was topped off with an accompanying voice over of what sports and ‘kick off’ means to them. As ever, it was an effective heartstring puller, providing the audience with an overwhelming feeling of friendship and comfort as they filed out into the foyer, moving some to tears.
Cherish the Orange certainly follows the mantra ‘write what you know’, as ‘Kick Off’ is their third edition of a university life and friendship focused show; a genre they have certainly cornered within the University of Bristol theatre scene. It will be interesting to see how the company progresses. Yet overall, it’s hard not to leave the theatre with a smile and feeling of warmth after watching a Cherish the Orange play.
Featured image: Cherish the Orange / Gabby Adaway
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