I’m sitting with my lovely fellow editors in the Pickerel. It’s a Wednesday. At this point, Bridgemas is approaching, and we’re traipsing our eyes over all the wonderful shows that are yet to come in Michaelmas, and save us from the misery of our degrees – we’re all Englings, obviously. When I mention the upcoming show from CU Show Choir, my delightful co-editor, Dan, is quick to say: “Oh my god, I love show choir!” This is a sentiment that has come to define my Bridgemas spectacularly quickly. The adoration that this small theatre society inspires amongst its core audience is palpable, even sweeping up fellow Varsity Theatre writer, Elsie Hayward, last year.

“The group performs every term at the ADC Theatre with two one-hour performances, sometimes even expanding to May Balls”

Show Choir, for the uninitiated, is a troupe of performers who reenact songs from a variety of genres: musicals, the pop charts, even club classics (not whatever dross the DJ on the first floor of Kiki’s puts on, don’t you worry). The group performs every term at the ADC Theatre with two one-hour performances, sometimes even expanding to May Balls, Ahead of their Michaelmas Show, CU Show Choir: A Night to Remember, I had the opportunity to sit down with Irmak Yesilkaya and Jane Dorrian, two long-time devotees to the Show Choir lifestyle.

Despite their passion for it now, Show Choir wasn’t something either Irmak or Jane were aware of when they started Cambridge. After being discouraged from signing up to bigger musical theatre societies following an unenthusiastic exchange at Freshers’ Fair, Irmak remembers sending off a self-tape “very last minute” to the group and then never looking back: “some of the people who I met in the callbacks were some of the first people I met in Cambridge … and I’ve been there ever since!” Jane has a similar story: “I did a lot of musical theatre in school, did all my singing exams … and then I came to Cambridge and I did a lot of classical singing. I thought I would maybe do Chapel Choir [but] that seemed a bit intense and a bit scary. So I actually didn’t really do anything in my first year.” After speaking to Jemima Waters, one of Show Choir’s Musical Directors in college, however, she was encouraged to join in her second year: “I thought this seems chill, seems fun, seems lighthearted. I’ve also watched a lot of Glee [so] I was like, gotta give this a go!”

“Once you’re in, you’re in”

What becomes very clear throughout our discussion is the sense of community that Show Choir fosters. “Once you’re in, you’re in,” says Irmak, explaining how the society doesn’t require its members to audition for a show once they have done one. “We want to create an environment where it’s as low pressure as possible,” Jane emphasises. Rehearsals are carried out twice a week throughout term on Thursdays and Sundays, and they are, in Irmak’s words: “very camp. We warm up to a Glee or a Pitch Perfect song every rehearsal!” Of course, this distinguishes Show Choir in another way from its theatrical peers: in rehearsing throughout all of term, the group get to know each other much more than many other shows possess the resources to. As Irmak states, on most plays and musicals: “You have just two/three weeks of rehearsals and then you go from seeing this person everyday, and then all of a sudden, [it’s] like, ok, bye bye!”

Team welfare doesn’t seem to suffer, however, despite the longer production time. “We make sure people are comfortable with what we’re doing,” Jane states, reciting a time when the team used anonymous voting to decide on the nature of a ‘risque’ dance – “everyone is very happy to be there”. The pair are eager to praise Lucy Thompson, the society’s “saviour” and choreographer, who, rumour has it, got mistaken for a professional choreographer when the troupe performed in National Competitions prior to COVID.

“There will be Gaga, and […] there will be Wicked as well!”

When I ask what newcomers to the society can expect from this upcoming performance, a lot of answers emerged. “We tried to make the set list as memorable as possible … it’s a bit extra, and you know, why not?” At this point, I leverage my insider knowledge: “I’ve heard about Gaga?” My sources weren’t lying: “there will be Gaga, and I’m allowed to disclose there will be Wicked as well!” Other features such as cheesy smiles, jazz hands, audience interaction and some gymnastics-esque “daring” lifts will all be on display as well!

I end by asking what the pair’s favourite memories of Show Choir are. For Jane, it’s the variety of socials they hold, whether it’s episodes of Glee, or the group trip they held to see Wicked: For Good last week. For Irmak, it has to be a moment of choreography from CU Show Choir: Silly Love Songs last March: “In this song called ‘Tongue Tied’, the choreo was like, you have to hug the person next to you. And it was always my (now) Co-Producer, Miriam … we would always give each other the biggest hug, and I just loved it every single time.”

CU Show Choir: A Night To Remember is showing at the ADC Theatre on Thursday 4th-Friday 5th December at 11pm.