Blending bantering teenagers, melodramatic subplots, and a bolshy female lead with a heart of gold, it\u2019s hard not to come away from Babies<\/a> likening it to a musical episode of Tracy Beaker \u2013 except they don\u2019t stop at \u201cBog off\u201d.<\/p>\n The new coming-of-age comedy, conceived by Jack Godfrey and Martha Geelan, opened this week at The Other Palace Theatre, a venue best known for being the UK birthplace of another teen musical: Heathers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sadly, Babies doesn\u2019t quite share the same magnetism of its predecessor, but it still manages to be a fun and feel-good romp with a scarily accurate insight into the lives of 15-year-olds.<\/p>\n The premise is a quirky but simple one: nine Year 11 kids are each tasked with taking care of a fake baby for the purposes of sex education. Within the troop, you have a range of different personalities and cliques befitting of any secondary school story: there\u2019s the try-hard student determined to ace every test, the Instagram girlie resolute on maintaining her perfect peachy bubble, and the group of misfit besties who let secrets and outside issues infiltrate their friendship.<\/p>\n As they attempt to love and take care of their plastic progeny, the teens end up learning far more about themselves and each other than they do about nappy changing.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start with the show\u2019s biggest plus: the songs are absolutely electric and as infectious as a round of child chicken pox. If you\u2019re a fan of a pop-rock musical, the Babies album will definitely be featuring on your Spotify Wrapped at the end of the year. Highlights include the opening song Baby Baby Baby \u2013 which perfectly manages to straddle the task of getting the blood pumping while expositing the plot \u2013 and Hot Dad \u2013 a heartthrob number that wouldn\u2019t be out of place on the first One Direction album.<\/p>\n To back up the stellar soundtrack is Alexzandra Sarmiento\u2019s pristine choreography, and the fact that every cast member keeps the energy at 100 throughout. Without their obvious relishing of the show and its joyful tone, it just wouldn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n Yet while the overall feel of Babies is CBBC levels of fun, what it also does well is zoom right into the lives of Year 11 students and the struggles they go through. What some adults in the audience may have forgotten is that this is an age where you live and die by your GCSE results and every single piece of messaging funnelled your way is centred around those terrifying two words: \u201cYour future.\u201d<\/p>\n It perfectly conveys the pressure we put on teens to act and think like adults before they have any real sense of the outside world, while also going into the ways we put pressure on parents to be faultless.<\/p>\n Throughout the show, we see a million microcosms of the ways parenting can go wrong. From the try-hard student expecting perfection from her child, to the Instagram girlie experiencing serious mum guilt, plus, the fact that some people just don\u2019t want kids at all. Ultimately, whatever stage of life you\u2019re at, you\u2019ll find that there\u2019s at least something in Babies you can relate to.<\/p>\n But this leads me onto the question, who is Babies actually for? Based on the peppy songs and Jacqueline Wilson-style storyline, I would have said this show is designed for a tween audience, but there\u2019s plenty of swearing and a few sexual references that might make some parents uncomfortable. If it\u2019s for older teens, might they not be looking for something a bit more grungy or serious to fit their journey into adulthood? And if it\u2019s for adults, I think the plot may either be seen as too juvenile or too PTSD-inducing for those of us who haven\u2019t quite got over their need for teacher affirmation.<\/p>\n In its attempts to juggle upbeat songs, deep themes, and multiple storylines, Babies falls into the trap of trying to do too much in too little time, and forgoes some of the most interesting characters for moral messaging.<\/p>\n Yes, every role gets their moment, but characters like Ashley Goh\u2019s Alex, Lucy Carter\u2019s Lulu and Bradley Riches\u2019 (of Heartstopper fame) Toby are stand-outs, and sadly they don\u2019t get given anywhere near enough centre-stage time for us to appreciate them.<\/p>\n If Babies wants to earn Heather-status as a teen musical for the ages, it perhaps needs to just take a look at what it\u2019s trying to say, and who it\u2019s trying to say it for.<\/p>\n But, what can\u2019t be denied is that the show left me with a smile on my face and certainly a lot to think about. So, Babies we\u2019re ready for ya!<\/p>\n Buy Babies tickets at TodayTix<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n For more reviews, take a look at the Going Out<\/a> section. We\u2019ve got a review of Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder!<\/a> Plus Witness for the Prosecution<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Babies is playing at\u00a0The Other Palace<\/strong> for just six weeks until\u00a014th July<\/strong>\u00a0with shows every Tuesday to Sunday.<\/p>\n Test your brain power with our Going Out-themed riddles in RadioTimes.com\u2019s free newsletter<\/span><\/em><\/p> \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Tickets are on sale now at TodayTix, starting from \u00a318. As a note, the venue is fairly small so you get a decent view from pretty much any seat.<\/p>\n Buy Babies tickets at TodayTix<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n For more news and reviews, here\u2019s how to get Your Lie in April tickets<\/a> and how to see the Friends Experience London<\/a>. Plus, what to do in London this weekend<\/a> and the best open air theatre shows<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n This new comedy is a great laugh, but is still in its infancy. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":53252,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/babies-review-coming-of-age-musical-is-fun-and-feel-good.png",2192,1461,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/babies-review-coming-of-age-musical-is-fun-and-feel-good-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/babies-review-coming-of-age-musical-is-fun-and-feel-good-300x200.png",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/babies-review-coming-of-age-musical-is-fun-and-feel-good-768x512.png",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/babies-review-coming-of-age-musical-is-fun-and-feel-good-1024x683.png",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/babies-review-coming-of-age-musical-is-fun-and-feel-good-1536x1024.png",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/06\/babies-review-coming-of-age-musical-is-fun-and-feel-good-2048x1365.png",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"This new comedy is a great laugh, but is still in its infancy.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/53251"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Four](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/06\/3.-BabiesMattCrockett1231RTPress-dac5c32.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"3.")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>When and where can I see Babies?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/06\/4.-BabiesMattCrockett9071RTPress-e75e849.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"4.")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>How to get Babies tickets<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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