Warp Factor Review

The winner of the Harry Porter Prize has demonstrated that the award was well deserved.

Oliver Taylor‘s script is extremely clever, exceedingly hilarious, and very dynamic. There is not a single line that didn’t make the audience laugh hysterically. The script mocks common elements in science fiction such as sentient spaceships, high-tech weaponry, and suspended animation. Warp Factor also has some hilarious references to the absurdity of well-known shows like Doctor Who and Star Trek.

Captain Heracles Andromeda and his crew are on a secret mission. When Heracles wakes up from suspended animation, he finds out that most of his spaceship has been destroyed and that his entire crew has died. His incompetent bioship GIDEON downloaded all the personalities of the crew members into the mind of mysterious man. With only a few minutes of oxygen left, they are both rescued by the crew of the spaceship Ethnic Rainbow. Ethnic Rainbow are on a mission to violently fight all the bigotry and discrimination in the universe. When they are all attacked by the Militant Atheist League, they find out Heracles Andromeda secret mission, and how it relates to the origin of God. Taylor’s writing is completely original and very reminiscent of the comedic genius of Douglas Adams.

Taylor and Jenkins

I would encourage anyone to go see this show, not only because the script is exceedingly amusing, but also because it has a great underlining message that some people in Cambridge really need to hear. The crew of Ethnic Rainbow are fighting discrimination in the worse manner possible; they use violence, they do racial profiling, and they believe that their morals are superior. The Militant Atheist League fights quite irrationally to impose its own rationality on the universe. Taylor makes an elegant social commentary on  those who fight bigotry with more bigotry.

The Harry Porter Prize winner was announced with only two weeks before the show. The cast, the direction, and the production took the challenge of putting together a great show in such short notice, and the result was extraordinary. The cast was able to transport the audience into a futuristic world of space warfare through slapstick and the limited use of props. The audience was inspired with awe from start to finish, and they were consistently laughing throughout the show.

Lily Lindon

Oliver Taylor portrayed captain Heracles Andromeda. His delivery was sharp and perfectly timed, and everything Taylor said was guaranteed to make the audience laugh out loud.

Kyle Turakhia gave an energetic and entertaining performance. Turakhia was presented with the acting challenge to portray a man with five hundred different personalities, and he was extraordinary good at it.

Laura Inge was the captain of Ethnic Rainbow, a vicious and violent fighter for inclusion. Inge’s exaggerated performance and anger outbursts were some of the highlights of the show, she always got a positive response from the audience.

Kyle Turakhia, Oliver Taylor and Hayden Jenkins

Lily Lindon was a Feminid from the planet Vulvox where everyone chooses their gender. The devil is in the detail, and it is that attention to detail that makes Lindon a great actress; the occasional comradely grin to the audience, the silent reaction to what other actors are saying, the acting that you can still see in your peripheral when the scene is not focusing on her. Lindon is very charismatic and one of the most engaging actors in Cambridge.

Haydn Jenkins‘ character was the least extremist of the Ethnic Rainbow crew. Some of his lines felt flat but, overall, his delivery was very laugh inducing. Jenkins performances never disappoint, he is effortlessly funny and very entertaining.

The whole gang

The only reason I am not giving this play a higher score is because the script contained a couple of cheesy speeches about the moral of the story that I didn’t particularly enjoy as much as the rest of the show. That said, Warp Factor is a show not to be missed. Warp Factor has a great cast, a genius script, and a powerful message to convey. Bravo!

85% – Warp Factor is a star!