Monsters Got Talent

This was our first time attending a performance from Acting Up – Community Drama Group (a Morden based am dram society) who were performing Monsters Got Talent. What really struck us about this group was the creativity behind them, the concept came from musical director (Josie Logan) with additional scriptwriting from one of the cast members (Darren Dimmock-Whall playing host, Rick Ghastly). Direction came from Lydia Lawless, who also played contestant Luna Moon, with assistant direction by Jordan Dye, who took on the role of judge Pestilence. It was a fifteen person cast with each actor having a named character and all the contestants featuring in the ensemble at other points. Choreography was a group effort with seven cast members credited with providing this.

The concept is a line-up of monsters (and by accident, one human) performing in a Britain’s Got Talent style show for an equally monstrous line-up of judges (I’m including the Simon Cowell inspired “Destruction” played by Ashley Dimmock-Whall as monstrous).

The show’s family-friendly orientation is one of its strongest features. With a fun mixture of monsters including zombies, Frankenstein’s monster, a siren and a wolf. The humour is accessible, with plenty of silly moments, wink-wink references, and building to amusing reveals such as the invisible man. It was also packed with puns, the kind that make you groan and grin in equal measure.. Parents could find things to appreciate and kids will love the monster antics, the applause and the audience interaction. The show features a range of familiar pop songs including Disturbia (Rihanna), Houdini (Dua Lipa), Stop (Spice Girls) and Somebody’s Watching me (Rockwell). Although the show was primarily for children there was definitely many aspects to keep adults engaged.

Each child ticket came with a goody bag, I was very kindly given one to take a look at. Among other items, it included a light up toy so that young audience members could feel like they were at a concert, boo/woo cards to show their performance preferences and my personal highlight, “top trump” style cards which gave points for different aspects of each characters. . It’s clear that the group put real thought into making the whole experience immersive and engaging for younger viewers

In terms of staging, costume and set-design are modest but well-executed. They don’t try to be overly elaborate, but the simplicity works with the colourful monster costumes bringing the show to life. A screen was used to provide different visual backdrops, they also incorporated some short video clips, this worked particularly well when reminding the audience of the contestants. I have to admit that I was slightly worried when I saw the screen as it can be hard to get this right however, I think they had the right balance as they were able to create simple changes in atmosphere.

The focus is squarely on the performers rather than flashy distractions, which aligns with the overall feel of the show. The setting of the Cryer Arts Centre suits this kind of production informal, community-focused, and intimate. You feel close to the action especially as the judges were sat in front of the stage within the audience. There isn’t a big auditorium distance between you and the stage, which helps the audience engage. The cast responded well to the audience members, there was some moments where audience participation was encouraged including a fun backstage scene with Luna Moon where we were asked to howl along (My own Luna, a howling husky, who would have approved of this scene!). Despite being based around the "Got Talent" format the acts were primarily singers (there was a nod towards this at the end of the show and a whistle stop tour of other act types from the Wizard (James Haigh). While there was some variation in vocal strength among the cast, each performer brought character and personality to their number, making every act enjoyable.

The plot is simple, there isn’t major character development as most characters are only seen once, with the exception of the girl/ghoul band formed later in the show featuring Luna Moon (Lydia Lawless), Frankenstein’s Monster (Jessica Dowding), Coral Sea (Huihui Liu), Daisy Pusha (Josie Logan) and Medusa (Vicky Savill) to cover a Spice Girls classic. However, in this context, deep character arcs aren’t necessary. The show’s strength lies in its variety and energy rather than emotional depth. Each act is designed to be a quick burst of humour, music, and monster-themed fun, more like a talent show sketch than a traditional narrative. This structure keeps things light and engaging for its young audience, who are more interested in the spectacle and silliness than in backstories or development.

There were times that I felt the pace lacked, a few times the pauses between lines went on too long making some lines feel more rehearsed than reactive. The hosts also took us back too many times to revisit the contestant list which became quite a lengthy sequence. For younger children, whose attention span might flicker, these moments risk losing momentum. It’s not a disastrous issue, but I did find myself noticing the breaks in flow.

One of the most fun aspects is the “contest” format and how it plays out night to night. Every evening, the winner was decided by the audience through Slido. I wish they had opted to use the hide results functionality as it would have been fun to have that suspense. Admittedly this show was more targeted for children, so perhaps their parents/guardians were keeping the results secret.

 On the night I attended the victorious act was the duo (or maybe solo) playing the characters of Dr. Jekyll (Simon Church) and Mr. Hyde (Matt Thompson) — so it seems that Jekyll and Hyde won every night. You can see why they won: the performance solid, featuring some of the strongest vocals in the show, and their characters memorable. There was also a change in tone to traditional musical theatre style rather than the pop songs from the other acts with their rendition of “Confrontation” from the Jekyll and Hyde Musical. Simon Church as Dr. Jekyll gave a particularly striking performance with his vocals perfectly fitting the musical theatre style. My vote went to the Gorgon Gals as I was impressed by the power in Medusa’s (Vicky Savill) voice covering perfectly matched song “Medusa” by Kaia Jette. I do think the show missed a trick in not having the winners perform again to keep in the “Got Talent” style.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that they went all in with a full advert break for the interval. Creating their own adverts (as well as a few from their sponsors) inspired by products and TV shows that we are already familiar with. I have never been so entertained during an interval, giggling away at Love at first bite, Dancing with the Ghouls and my personal favourite, an infomercial reminding you to call 999 rather than Ghostbusters (unless you actually had a ghost). They had really gone the extra mile here.

The winning duo

Overall, “Monsters got talent” was a thoroughly entertaining and imaginative production that showcased both their creativity and community spirit. While there were a few pacing hiccups, the charm, enthusiasm, and inventiveness of the cast and crew more than made up for them. The interactive elements, clever humour, and playful monster theme made it a memorable experience for families, with plenty for both children and adults to enjoy. It’s clear that a lot of love and collaboration went into this show, and that passion shone through in every howl, pun, and performance. If this production is anything to go by, Acting Up is a group well worth keeping an eye on. Their next show is Who snuffed it? will take place in July 2026. Another show created by their own group. It is a reverse murder mystery, where the audience needs to figure out who the victim is rather than who was the murderer.