Given that there is so much stern and serious theatre in Cambridge, I really wanted to like The Final Countdown. And, as a matter of fact, I really did like its first scene. It was deliciously cheesy, and wonderfully lowbrow, and I happen to rather enjoy that sort of thing: everybody loves the guilty pleasure of a college drama. Ultimately, however, this potentially brilliant alternative to the classic Cambridge theatre scene was let down by a truly terrible script. Flitting between the stories of three main characters in their final year of uni, sketch-show style, made it very difficult for the audience to get a sense of what was going on. Broadly speaking, nothing. And an absence of any real character development made it a struggle to care. Considering Zander, Bonnie and Rachel are preparing for a tumultuous life transition, emotional engagement was wondrously scarce. There were a few entertaining scenes - one about Carol Vorderman, which I wouldn't want to spoil, and another regarding a love letter – but for the most part, the script felt as though it was something of an afterthought, existing only to provide Stef Porter with an excuse to play us all of his favourite songs. Even for a play which, thankfully, doesn't take itself too seriously, that's a dangerous premise to work from.

I really feel for everyone involved in this play, because, against all odds, they made a fantastic rescue attempt. Evidently not a terribly capable writer, Porter's direction was slick, and I was impressed by his bravery in occupying the stage with a large cast, on many occasions when such bustle could have been avoided. The introduction of silly voices and physical quirks went part of the way to compensating for the huge inadequacies of the script, and it was this that made that first scene so damn memorable. The choreography was extremely well done, and the cast threw themselves into every number with admirable enthusiasm; even the sound and lighting were well selected, if lacking a little in variety. Sadly, the play just didn't merit the obvious dedication of this extremely talented team of individuals, who, despite valiant efforts, could do nothing to save it.

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