With only 24 hours to write, direct, tech, and rehearse a full performance, Cambridge University Musical Theatre Societies’ 24 hour musical is truly a cacophony of creativity like no other. The theme for this year’s ever-ambitious production was ‘ADC Breakfast’, which took the form of various musical skits in a failing Breakfast TV show. The jeers, cries, whoops, and bellows from a rhapsodic rabble of theatre-goers were a constant feature of this joyous production, marched to a 50-minute finish by the cheeky effervescence of a cider-happy crowd.

The highlights of the production were best reflected in the talent of the cast, whose fast thinking improvisations, mastery of comic timing, and genuinely stunning singing skills kept the evening engaging throughout. Particular mention should be dedicated to a brilliant sketch that riffed on a cooking show, where exaggerated stereotypes of French and Italian chefs quibbled over the stove with one lambasting the other “you’re an extra virgin!”, garlic in hand. Where poor audibility and misremembered lines threatened some of the weaker songs in the set list, the playful improvisation and confidence of the cast kept us singing and clapping along regardless.

“The song writing and lyricist teams conjured up bold, brash brilliance”

Ultimately the pantomime-esque pandemonium of the creative task at hand was grounded by a professionally high standard of song writing and music composition. This gave the cast plenty to play with on stage, keeping the show controlled enough to allow the performances to shine. Enormous credit must be lauded on the song writing and lyricist teams who conjured up bold, brash brilliance under pressure-cooker conditions. Whether it was a wildly overstimulating parody of teleshopping channels, or a comically mismatched couple breaking up live on a quiz show, their skill in combining classical musical crowd pleasers with sharp original dialogue was impressive.

Unfortunately while the criminally quick production turnaround had inspired creativity in some elements, the same cannot be said of the technical aspects of the production which were often severely hampering. Witty dialogue and scintillating lyrics were sadly lost by poor microphone work that meant much of the production went largely unheard. As the MC rather ironically quipped into a dead microphone “you can’t have a show without tech — can you?” Indeed, the two MCs were regrettably often overwhelmed by the elation of the audience and the volatility of their task, unable to match the energy of the evening and losing the attention of a restless crowd.

Still, polished and pristine production was hardly what the audience were anticipating from the evenings’ entertainment, and the productions strengths were when they leant into absurdity and embraced the madness. Halfway through a scene of emotional dialogue we suddenly saw the spotlight yanked away from the actors and onto a sparkling disco ball, blasting the crowd in dazzling glimmers. An accident? A moment of avant-garde design genius? As one heckler gleefully shouted, “who the hell knows?!” The CUMTS 24 hour musical is truly an unforgettable whirlwind event, and although you’re likely to stumble out with a headache, you’ll certainly never watch Breakfast TV in the same way again.