Writer: Olivia Hannah
Director: Alex Mitchell
A wild and wagging party has come to town, and you’re all invited. Silent Uproar’s Sh*t Life Crisis at the Polar Bear Music Club in Hull is a bold, brilliant and slightly bonkers mash-up of dark humour, existential angst, and biting social commentary. It takes the raw, uncomfortable truths of modern adulthood and spins them into something strangely comforting and hilariously cathartic.
The show balances chaos and clarity with impressive skill. The cast’s energy is infectious, switching seamlessly between absurdity and sincerity. One moment you’re laughing at the shows ludicrousness, the next you’re sitting in stunned silence as a character quietly breaks down. It’s daring, it’s reckless and it’s, quite often, very touching.
A bold choice staging this piece of gig theatre in the Polar Bear Music Club but this pub-venue vibe actually enhances the show’s themes. It’s messy, loud, and happening whether you’re ready for it or not. In a show that is otherwise whip-smart and wildly entertaining, it does deal with themes that are, quite often, difficult to digest. You’re in safe hands here though. Florence Odumosu and Madeleine MacMahon throw away their inhibitions and perform with a necessary full frontal, no-holds-barred approach, with MacMahon reminiscent of a young Gill Adams (Hull playwright and mother of Lucy Beaumont). Olivia Hannah’s writing shows real promise and the small but appreciative audience seemed to participate with relish.
Silent Uproar delivers exactly what they promise: theatre that punches up, makes you think, and lets you laugh at the worst bits of being human. Highly recommended for anyone who’s ever asked, “Is this it?”
The company, who’ve had previous critical successes with A Super Happy Story About Feeling Sad, really set the bar for queer theatre in Hull and, with a few tweaks in dramaturgy, this latest piece of fringe theatre could be just as exciting.
It’s important to note that the company are offering ‘pay what you can’ performances for selected dates of the tour, making this live experience accessible and inclusive to all.
Reviewed on 23rd May 2025. Touring the UK.
