Six old school friends meet up in a remote barn, their aim to become the next singing sensation on Yorkshire's Got Talent. They'll become the new Spice Girls, they'll break away from the boredom of life in the dullsville of Pickering. Well, most of them want to.
Rosie's already at uni in Manchester, her future looks more assured. Four of the others are steadily succumbing to hometown boredom, alcohol, dead end jobs. And then there's Aimee (Lana Pheutan), who just looks pleased to be there. They try out some of their song routines, get the moves going, but Aimee is always the odd one out, the one who'll ruin their chances. It's as if she shouldn't be part of the group. There are discussions about what everyone has been up to, hints at the lives they are leading, and then there's Aimee again, and nobody's sure if her story has any truth to it or not. A llama?
Sophie reckons if they're to do well in the competition they need a USP, something to grab the judges' sympathies, a real sob story. There are a few lame attempts at ideas, but this is Aimee's chance to excel. And her sob story turns events along a much darker path than expected.
A simple story well told, and with a nice twist. All six actors do a good job, with no real stand out performance (although Pheutan has the most difficult role during the song and dance routines, of being close but never quite right, and she does a good job of extracting the comedy potential), and have good singing voices too. It's a fun watch, with some serious points to make on the nature of friendship and the cruelty groups can exhibit towards outsiders. It might not be the best show on the Fringe, but you certainly won't feel you've wasted your time if you go and see it. And you might be watching a future star in the early days of their career.
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