The storyline seems totally absurd and yet totally convincing – it feels somehow entirely feasible that best buddies at university would, after graduation, naturally drift away and do their own thing, which in the case of Nick (Nicholas Southcott) and Charlie (Tom Watson) appears to be not very much at all. Again, this is very possible if statistics often quoted by mainstream media about the apparent sheer numbers of younger people ‘not in employment, education or training’ are to be believed. The impact of artificial intelligence on entry-level jobs is for another show at another time – this one-act musical’s critical incident doesn’t necessarily irrevocably change the course of the rest of Nick and Charlie’s lives, but it does give them a proverbial kick up the rear end.
There were multiple musical theatre references thrown in for fans and followers of more recent shows – the script is not, alas, exactly dripping with quotes from the Great American Songbook. But if you just happen to be one of those people who has never been to a musical before, there’s still much to be enjoyed in this highly whimsical narrative that revels in being as hammy as possible, even in a studio space. It works, for the most part, and is so briskly paced I occasionally had difficulty keeping up with it. This is not, I hasten to add, a call for the production to slow down: sluggishness is far, far worse than speed.
A long opening video montage was followed by a few shorter videos along the way. It seemed to me that having spent the time and effort putting them together (they are, to be fair, produced to a high standard) the production is far from keen to let any of them go, and I suppose they give the cast a bit of breathing space before the next round of high octane activity. Majoring on the humour, there was, perhaps, something of a missed opportunity in not doing a deep dive into toxic masculinity beyond lampooning it. But at least it lampooned it with pizazz – and (spoiler alert) it was roundly and repeatedly rejected by Nick.
It’s still a fairly novel thing for a pub theatre production to so seamlessly integrate pre-recorded videos and voiceovers with live performance, and this production is to be commended for doing it all so well. The goofy style of humour will not appeal to everyone, but I found resistance to be nothing short of futile. The musical leans into certain stereotypes, such as twentysomethings of today who use their phones for anything other than making and receiving calls. Then again, it was refreshing to see them not semi-permanently glued to their phones, and part of me thought a scene in which neither Nick nor Charlie could be bothered to get up to answer a phone just out of reach was fair enough. Especially these days, when many calls even come up as ‘Suspected Scam’ or ‘Likely Nuisance’.
Challenged, not entirely of their own volition, to participate in a ten-kilometre charity run, the cash-poor duo take themselves off to the gym, a plothole if ever there was one. A minor aberration in an otherwise energetic and engaging show. Some metatheatre creeps into the narrative, nicely done. A fun and fantastical production.
Review by Chris Omaweng
Nick and Charlie have procrastinated their 20s away, rotting on the sofa and ghosting everyone else in their lives until the day they receive some shocking news about their old friend, Jamie.
Determined to honour Jamie’s memory, the boys decide to do something radical. Something that terrifies them… exercise.
A buddy comedy musical about the world of fitness and masculinity with a little bit of showbiz pizazz added to really get the blood pumping.
Nick: Nicholas Southcott
Charlie: Tom Watson
Trey: George Deller
Megan: Scarlett Irish
Pilly: Chloe Way
Jamie (voice and video): Matt Peebles
Male understudy: Tom Holt
Female understudy: Hannah Lochhead
‘10k for Dummies’ voice: Oliver Britten
Writer and Lyricist: Tom Watson
Composer and Musical Director: Sam Wells
Director: Hannah Lochhead
Video Design: Tom Watson
Sound Operator: Sam Wells
Set Design: Zeke Eliasberg
Lighting Design: Elliott Shepard
Lighting Operator: Leon Andrews
Filmed segments DOP: James Duncan
10K? JOG ON!
Jack Studio Theatre
9 to 13 June 2026
