Mode Theatre’s The Academy Trust: Under New Management is a comedy, written and performed by teachers, that exposes the horrifying realities of modern-day teaching. Taking place over the course of a few days, the show weaves through a series of hilarious yet endlessly relatable scenarios, culminating in the dreaded world book day.
The centre of the piece is Rachel, who is internally battling over whether or not to hand in her resignation amidst all the changes at the school. Not only does this make for some great comedic beats, but it wonderfully encapsulates the debate that many teachers are facing. How can anyone continue to teach in an environment that demands so much and provides so little?
The three performers, I was sadly unable to find their names, all demonstrated an impressive range as they played multiple characters. A personal favourite of mine was ‘Mrs Langley’, a hilariously stereotypical parent who refuses to believe her ‘little angel Jackson’ could possibly be disruptive, instead insisting that Rachel had traumatised her little boy. The show is stacked full of these stereotypical yet undeniably real characters, and each is as funny as the last. However, there were so many of these characters that at times it was slightly tricky to keep track of the plot. The first half in particular felt more like a collection of comedic scenes than a flowing play. Although it did all come together in the end! I just wonder if cutting one of these subplots might have allowed the audience to spend more time with our main protagonist Rachel, and therefore empathise with her struggle even more.
It’s also worth mentioning that The Academy Trust is quite a gentle comedy. As the gags are derived from the real-life experience of teachers, don’t expect completely absurd, off-the-wall, high-energy hilarity. Rather, the show will have you smiling throughout, whilst feeling pity for what so many educators go through. That’s not to say that there aren’t some very clever gags though! There’s one, involving an acronym, that particularly stands out. But I won’t give away the punchline here.
Overall, The Academy Trust is a very enjoyable and dare I say educational hour that is certainly worth checking out. If you’d like to have a laugh while you learn about the current state of schools, you can’t go wrong with this.
Reviewer: Ben Pearson
Reviewed: 20th of August 2024
North West End UK Rating: