Review: Rock of Ages - Pop-Up Theatre

Society name: Pop Up Theatre

Show name:  Rock of Ages

Adjudicator date of attendance: 05/04/2026

Pop Up Theatre’s production of Rock of Ages was a hugely enjoyable and energetic celebration of eighties rock culture, embracing the excess, humour, and heart of the show with confidence and enthusiasm. From the opening moments, the company established a strong atmosphere that immediately immersed the audience in the world of the Bourbon Room. The production understood exactly what the show required stylistically, leaning fully into the heightened rock-concert aesthetic while still maintaining emotional sincerity and clear storytelling throughout.

Under the direction of Karen Gordon, the production moved with excellent pace and momentum. One of the strongest elements of the evening was the attention paid to character development and relationships. Every performer on stage appeared to exist fully within the world of the show, and even smaller characters felt as though they had their own backstory and purpose. This added authenticity and richness to the production and ensured the comedy never became superficial or one-dimensional. The storytelling throughout the evening was particularly clear and well structured. Karen demonstrated a strong instinct for when to allow moments to breathe emotionally and when to push the pace forward, ensuring the audience remained fully engaged throughout. The naturally outrageous tone of Rock of Ages can easily become chaotic in weaker productions, but here the direction maintained a good sense of control and cohesion. The comedy landed very effectively, with the production hitting the right emotional and comedic beats consistently across the evening.

The use of the performance space was also highly effective. Entrances and exits felt purposeful, and the movement of characters around the stage supported the storytelling naturally. The staging never felt cluttered or confusing, and there was a strong sense that every physical journey on stage had been considered carefully. The overall concept of the production felt complete and cohesive, capturing the spirit of a rock concert without tipping into parody. There were a few small areas where further refinement could elevate the production even more. Diction was occasionally inconsistent during the opening scenes, with some dialogue proving difficult to catch clearly. This improved noticeably as the performance progressed, but clearer articulation from the outset would help strengthen the storytelling and ensure every joke and reference lands fully with the audience. The fight choreography also felt slightly untidy in places. While the energy and intention behind these moments were evident, some sequences could benefit from additional tightening and precision to make them appear more polished and controlled.

Musically, the production was extremely strong. Musical Director Niamh Crowley, supported by Chorus Master Dave Flynn, created a powerful rock sound that captured the essence of the score while still maintaining balance and clarity. The orchestra brought tremendous energy to the performance without overwhelming the singers, which is a difficult balance to achieve in a show of this nature. The ensemble vocals were particularly impressive, producing a wonderfully full sound despite the relatively small size of the company. The harmonies throughout the production were excellent, and the musical preparation was evident in the precision of entrances and cut-offs. One of the standout strengths of the musical direction was the clarity achieved during the songs, allowing the audience to fully engage with both the humour and emotional storytelling embedded in the music. The production succeeded in feeling musically exciting and authentic to the genre without ever descending into noise or losing theatrical discipline.

There were a few minor balance issues at times, particularly with the bass drum, which occasionally felt slightly overpowering for the size of the venue. The low-end sound sometimes hit with enough force to distract momentarily from the vocals. However, this feels like a relatively small technical adjustment that could easily be addressed. Overall, the musical side of the production was of a very high standard and contributed enormously to the atmosphere and success of the evening.

Ciara Frahill’s choreography complemented the production beautifully and demonstrated a clear understanding of both the style of the piece and the strengths of the cast. The choreography captured the rock aesthetic effectively while remaining achievable and well executed by the performers. Particularly noteworthy was the work done with the strippers’ ensemble, whose movement quality was fluid, confident, and visually engaging. The choreography avoided becoming repetitive, and it was refreshing to see performers not always executing identical movements, creating more natural and visually dynamic stage pictures. The choreography also integrated smoothly into the storytelling rather than feeling like isolated dance breaks. Scenes flowed naturally into movement, helping maintain momentum throughout the production. Not every number relied on a traditional front-facing performance style, and this variation added greatly to the theatricality and professionalism of the piece. The cast executed the choreography with strong commitment and energy throughout.

Among the leading performances, Conor White gave an extremely entertaining portrayal of Lonny Barnett. He displayed excellent comedic instincts and understood exactly the right tone for the role. His humour was playful and cheeky without ever becoming overdone, and he maintained strong audience engagement throughout the evening. His interactions with Brendan Reid’s Dennis were particularly enjoyable and added warmth to the production. While diction was occasionally unclear during the opening sequence, likely due to accent work affecting vocal shaping, this improved considerably once the performance settled. Overall, he captured the spirit and charisma of the character very effectively.

Cathal Mulhern delivered a charming and heartfelt performance as Drew Boley. He portrayed the character’s awkward sincerity beautifully, making Drew immediately likeable and emotionally accessible to the audience. His emotional journey throughout the show was very well handled, successfully capturing both the highs and lows experienced by the character. His facial expressions were wonderfully expressive and added significantly to the emotional impact of the performance. Vocally, his voice sounded slightly tired early in the show, but once fully warmed up he delivered his songs with excellent strength and control. Most importantly, he clearly understood the storytelling within the music, which made his musical performances especially engaging.

Maggie Villarini gave a highly committed and energetic performance as Sherrie Christian. Her acting was excellent throughout, supported by strong physicality and confident stage presence. She fully embodied the role and maintained a very convincing accent consistently across both dialogue and songs. Her dancing was also particularly strong and added confidence and fluidity to her performance. At times maintaining the vocal characterisation appeared to affect vocal freedom slightly. The nasal quality of the chosen placement occasionally resulted in sharpness and reduced vocal power in certain songs. It would be interesting to hear what additional warmth and resonance might emerge if slightly more natural vocal placement were allowed during some musical moments. Nevertheless, her commitment to the character and consistency throughout the performance were highly impressive.

Brendan Reid brought warmth, authenticity, and charm to Dennis Dupree. He captured the laid-back nature of the character while still maintaining the authority and swagger expected of the Bourbon Room owner. His emotional moments surrounding the possible loss of the club were handled with genuine sincerity and helped ground the production amidst the larger comedic moments. His interactions with the cast felt natural and relaxed, and vocally he delivered his musical numbers with confidence and ease.

The supporting cast also contributed strongly to the success of the production. Anna Ryan gave a committed and confident performance as Regina Koontz, delivering particularly strong vocals throughout. While the relationship between Regina and Franz could perhaps have been developed slightly further, her overall performance was highly engaging. Mabel Chah as Justice Charlier delivered a performance that felt somewhat underpowered vocally for the material. While the acting itself was solid, the role did not always appear to suit her vocal strengths, and moments of pitch inconsistency occasionally emerged. Some staging choices also obscured facial expression and audience connection. With increased confidence and stronger physical presentation, the role could have even greater impact.

Danny Leonard demonstrated impressive versatility in his dual roles as the Mayor and Ja’Keith, successfully differentiating the characters physically and energetically. However, diction and projection proved challenging at times, making sections of dialogue difficult to follow. There is clearly strong character work beneath the performance, and with greater vocal clarity his work could become significantly stronger. Kieran Cunnane gave a committed portrayal of Hertz Kleinmann and captured the essence of the character effectively. At times the performance leaned heavily into aggression and volume. Introducing more stillness and subtle authority could create stronger contrast and make the character feel even more commanding.

Jason Kenny was highly entertaining as Franz Kleinmann and fully embraced the comedic style of the role. While a little more restraint in certain moments could allow greater variation and nuance, his performance was extremely enjoyable, and his dance work was a particular highlight. Peter Kenny excelled as Stacee Jaxx, fully embracing the self-absorbed rockstar persona with confidence, swagger, and excellent physicality. He appeared entirely comfortable in the role and delivered his musical performances with strong stage presence and charisma.

The ensemble was one of the production’s greatest strengths. They brought huge energy and commitment to every scene, creating a vibrant atmosphere throughout the evening. Despite their relatively small numbers, they produced a remarkably full vocal sound and consistently maintained strong character work. At times, some performances pushed slightly beyond believable reality, but given the heightened style of Rock of Ages, this generally suited the tone very well. The standout subgroup was undoubtedly the strippers, whose confidence, movement quality, and stage presence added enormously to the visual energy of the show.

Visually, the production was very successful. The set design effectively captured the gritty rock-concert atmosphere through the use of industrial scaffolding and strong detailing throughout. The projections were excellent and contributed significantly to the storytelling and atmosphere, though it was unfortunate that sections of the screens were obscured by the set structure. The inclusion of the stripper pole was an effective touch that enhanced the Bourbon Room environment, while the toilet set piece was cleverly utilised to create additional playing space and entrances.

Stage management by Jemma Gordon ensured the production maintained excellent flow throughout. Scene changes were smooth and efficient, and the use of cast members to complete transitions helped avoid unnecessary pauses in momentum.

The lighting design was another major strength of the production. From the opening moments, it established a strong rock-and-roll atmosphere through bold colour choices, effective use of shadows, and excellent backlighting. Cueing was generally very precise, and the restraint shown during quieter moments allowed scenes to feel more grounded and natural. In contrast, the larger musical moments expanded visually in a very satisfying way.

Costumes, hair, and makeup all contributed strongly to the immersive quality of the production. The costumes captured the exaggerated glamour of the period effectively, with excellent attention to detail throughout. Lonny’s t-shirts were a particularly enjoyable touch, while Sherrie’s costumes helped support her character development very effectively. Hair and makeup styling fully embraced the excess of eighties rock culture and helped create a cohesive visual world for the production.

Front of house also contributed positively to the overall audience experience. The atmosphere in the venue before the performance began was warm and welcoming, helping establish excitement from the outset. The wristbands distributed upon entry were a particularly fun touch and added nicely to the rock concert feel of the evening.

Overall, Pop Up Theatre delivered a hugely entertaining and highly accomplished production of Rock of Ages. The company clearly has a strong understanding of the material and embraced its energy, humour, and heart wholeheartedly. While there are a few areas that could benefit from further refinement, particularly around diction and some technical balance, these were relatively minor points within what was otherwise an energetic, polished, and thoroughly enjoyable evening of musical theatre.