I was not entirely sure what to expect from Dystopia: The Musical (A Sketch Show) at first, and when greeted by Ryan Rodrigues dressed in a white suit with bunny ears, playing the keyboard - I was still unsure what kind of show this was going to be.

The opening song was great, and whilst there were only 3 musical numbers in the production - all of which were strong, and loosely tying the show together conceptually - the use of music throughout the show alleviated the tension that can often arise during awkward scene changes, or any technical difficulties. It was an intelligent decision, and one which was executed well, with Rodrigues always present on stage, giggling away at the performers whilst still managing to play the keyboard exquisitely.

The sketches were, as with any sketch-show, a little hit and miss, but the misses were brief, and the stronger scenes more than made up for any slips. The beginning couple of sketches were strong, including a reference to one of my favourite childhood toys, Bop It! which I will never be able to look at in quite the same way; and the show certainly gains momentum throughout. I can imagine that performing comedy in Corpus Playroom is a real challenge without a full (and vocal) audience, but the performers were all excellent in both timing and delivery, and their unwavering energy! This energy proved particularly useful for a number of physical scenes, where the actors really showed their comedic potential: the sketch about an unusual French GCSE Oral Exam was particularly excellent.

It was the diversity of the show that most impressed me, as the performers moved swiftly from slapstick and physical, to a brilliantly bizarre powerpoint presentation, to a post-apocalyptic musical number. My personal favourite was probably the ‘Greatest Sketch Ever’ skit, simply because it just was not what I was expecting.

Dystopia is not a perfect show, and there were occasional jokes that fell a little flat here and there, but the pace of the writing and the skill of the performers meant that there was never a real lull in the audience. If you want to enjoy some of Cambridge’s emerging comedic talents, in a show that is well worth £6, I highly recommend Dystopia as a great way to distract yourself from the impending exams.