It is somewhat hard to know what to expect while on your way to a play which involves a reference to the infamously revolting “two girls, one cup” internet phenomenon. Luckily this witty production put on by three Magdalen first year Literature students induces no such mucky traumas in the viewer.
However, Three Guys, One Cuppers certainly deals with fetishes – Conor’s obsession with tea, Gabriel’s sexual arousement as a result of literature in the form of Barthes and Frank’s frantic despair as both of his fellow students procrastinate in their desperate attempt to put together a play for cuppers (presented in a sort of Matyoshka doll effect) all form part of a hilarious drama concoction.
The play, written entirely by its cast and featuring Conor Robinson, Frank Lawton and Gabriel Rolfe Macculum seemed in many ways to mirror the more manic aspects of student life, with moments of awkward silence followed by intense screaming and argument – it was, in many senses, surreal; a bizarre caricature of student life.
The success of these three guys lies in the fact that that their humour is young, fresh and student-oriented. We can all sympathise with the anguish at meeting essay deadlines while being constantly distracted by friends, tea and… spontaneous dancing. The characters developed for the stage are clearly based on the actor’s own experiences at Oxford, and thus strike an important chord among a student audience.
As the 15 pounds worth of tea bags were thrown in the air in the midst of an insane finale, the audience left with a visible grin – and some, admittedly, with some free tea.
