Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

All aboard for laughs as Aberdeen Student Show sets sail with Ayetanic

Song, dance and jokes are all in the mix for the welcome return of this Granite City institution.

Your heart will go on... Katy Johnson and Meg Stanger during rehearsals for this year's Aberdeen Student Show, Ayetanic, coming to His Majesty's Theatre. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson
Your heart will go on... Katy Johnson and Meg Stanger during rehearsals for this year's Aberdeen Student Show, Ayetanic, coming to His Majesty's Theatre. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

Your heart will go on – and so will the laughter – when the hugely-popular Aberdeen Student Show sets sail with its latest Doric extravaganza, Ayetanic.

Hang on, how are they going to fit in all the beloved Granite City references if it’s set on a cruise ship in a Titanic parody?

No need to fret, says Katy Johnson, administrator for the show which launches at His Majesty’s Theatre next week. This is the first student show not set in Aberdeen, but while it is heading for the high seas, it’s taking Aberdeen with it.

“When we first had the idea the show was going to be set on board a cruise ship we did wonder if people would be less likely to come along because they won’t see the sights of Aberdeen,” she said.

Stepping out… the cast of Ayetanic hard at work in rehearsals for this year’s Aberdeen Student Show coming to His Majesty’s. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

Titanic isn’t the only film reference for Aberdeen Student Show at HMT

“But not to worry as the cruise is based around a floating Aberdeen, so there are lots of references to well-known landmarks, such as Codona’s, Archibald Simpson’s, all of that fun.

Katy said this year’s show is using James Cameron’s iconic film as a loose framework for the fun and games, as it follows Rose Hill and her love interest Jock on their journey.

“It’s not as sad as the film, definitely a bit more uplifting,” she said.

“And it’s exciting because the first scene takes place in the new Aberdeen south harbour, which is perfect timing because it opens a week after our show.”

Having a laugh… the cast of Ayetanic are enjoying themselves at the script read through for this year’s Aberdeen Student Show. Image: Aberdeen Student Show

Titanic is not the only film reference in this year’s student show, said Katy, who as well as being the show’s administrator is also part of the ensemble on stage.

“We have a couple of references to Bridesmaids, a bit of the musical Anything Goes – and Scooby Doo as well.”

Cue an excuse for plenty of jokes and song and dance numbers, which are often the highlights of the student show. So, too are the many satirical, often cutting, topical references to people, places and events in Aberdeen.

Student show ‘confirms the ridiculousness of Aberdeen at times’

“As usual the city council comes into the mix and there a few different people mentioned – and of course a reference to the football club. It’s all just to confirm the ridiculousness of Aberdeen at times.”

Of course, it wouldn’t be the student show without a healthy helping of Doric. But given many of the students involved are from further afield than the north-east, how are they all getting on with the Mither Tongue?

“We have one student from America so it has been quite a challenge for her,” said Katy, laughing. “We’ve had to translate a few of the phrases, but she’s getting there. That’s all part of the fun.”

All together now… the cast of the Aberdeen Student Show, Ayetanic. mage: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

The real Titanic sank in 1912 – just nine years before the first Aberdeen Student Show took to the stage. So, what’s behind the longevity of a show which is now 102 years old?

“It’s the support from Aberdeen, the public coming to see our shows. We couldn’t do it without them,” said Katy.

“I think people can relate to it. It’s very rare you can go along and see a show that’s in Doric and a lot the humour is specific to Aberdeen. And each show is an original production as well.”

Aberdeen Student Show out to break charity fund-raising record

Not only has the student show been entertaining audiences for more than a century, it has also been raising money for local good causes. It has set the bar high for this year, said Katy.

“This year we have 50 charities – the largest number we have had so far. And we are also trying to break the fund-raising record. That was £121,000, set in 2019.”

Katy Johnson, administrator for the Aberdeen Student Show hopes it will be a record-breaking year for charity fundraising. Image: Aberdeen Student Show

But at the end of the day, the student show is all about entertaining audiences and Ayetanic will be no different, said Katy.

“I think everyone is going to really enjoy it. For the music, we have lots of good songs and classic songs that people are going to find funny as well. There will be lots of laughter and I’m just excited to see everyone’s faces.”

Ayetanic, the Aberdeen Student Show is at His Majesty’s Theatre from April 19 to 22. For information and tickets visit aberdeenperformingarts.com


You might also like…

Conversation