![](https://www.sardinesmagazine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Z6B_2564-jpg.webp)
Show: We’re Gonna Change the World
Society: London (professional shows)
Venue: The Royal Albert Hall. Kensington Gore, South Kensington, London SW7 2AP
Credits: Writtem by Theatretrain HQ. Musical Director and Founder: Kevin dowsett. Musical Directer: Robert Hyman
Type: Sardines
Author: Paul Johnson
Performance Date: 17/09/2023
We’re Gonna Change the World
Paul Johnson | 24 Sep 2023 17:42pm
Photo: All photos: Richard Washbrooke & Chris Christodoulou
REVIEWED BY DEBORAH HEDGES
Summer may be well and truly over, but my spirits were lifted as soon as I walked into the Royal Albert Hall for Theatretrain’s youth extraganza, We’re Gonna Change the World. The energy in the beautiful auditorium was palpable and electric, with the parents and families in the audience almost as excited as the performers themselves. The beautifully disciplined massed choir and impressive orchestra were already in place, and it wasn’t long before they were joined by a joyful flood of actors and dancers, each performing flawlessly in their section of the main stage and auditorium floor, coming together to make a flawlessly choreographed spectacle of storytelling through song.
It was a rainbow of a show, with so much happening that at times it was hard to know where to look: the performers were stunning, the choir didn’t just sing, they performed, the video screens above the stage used clever messaging and images to underscore what was being said, sung and presented so passionately, while the smart use of props and posters around the auditorium drew our focus. The soloist narrators and singers were, to a one, confident, compelling, challenging and talented – I have no doubt that there was a constant flow of parental tears of pride around the hall. Everyone in the audience could feel the commitment, the energy and the joy of performing from each and every young person, and the whole evening will be a special memory for all involved for a long time.
The show included thirty songs from the worlds of stage, screen and pop, brought together to pinpoint the problems and worries that young people are facing and challenging those in power to do something to solve them. The pieces in the first act concentrated largely on things that have plagued young people growing up since even old people like me were young – exam stress, friendships, sexuality, love and personal hygiene. Parental cluelessness and nagging also made an appearance, and it was a bit uncomfortable, even as I smiled, to recognise so many of my own well-worn whinges amongst the teasing. The scope broadened to include more recent, but no less pervasive worries for today’s young people – environmental destruction, war, gender repression, police brutality and the refugee crisis. The audience and world leaders (in the form of four terrifyingly powerful puppet caricatures which descended from the ceiling) were challenged to acknowledge that, through our actions and inactions, we have got the world into this mess, and now we must listen to the voices of those who are being left to clear it up to damn well do whatever it takes to put it right.
This was the 100thshow that Theatretrain has put on, and the twelfth time the grand old lady of the Royal Albert Hall has hosted such a spectacle, so it was right that Theatretrain’s clearly inspirational founder, Kevin Dowsett, came onstage to thank everyone involved and take his own round of applause. He was joined by another special guest from Switzerland, André Poulie, the founder of the Theodora Children’s Charity. This is an organisaton which brings joy and hope to sick children through its specially trained Giggle Doctors, and which has been the beneficiary of Theatretrain’s charity fundraising for 10 years. André spoke movingly of the power of positive energy to get things done and to make things happen – exactly the message of the night.
I left the hall feeling a mix of emotions, just as I should have done. It is sobering to think that young people are still struggling with so many of the things that we did, as well as the newer threats they face, but with the power and the passion that they all showed, they, if anyone, are indeed gonna change the world.