Review: C U Later, Simulator, Museum of Comedy

First off, Sophie from “Yorkshireville” has to choose their name and appearance. “This is not The Sims,” admonishes an irritatingly shrill voice. The voice turns out to belong to Bloopy, the virtual assistant who appears on the back-projected screen behind Sophie, and whose gnomic utterances are so screechingly incomprehensible that they have to be written up in subtitles. 

This is life as video game, in which Sophie begins Level 1 as Young Adult. Their quest: to find their community. Should it be The Church? Apparently not: after an ill-fated Jesus rap, it’s deemed that this course is “incompatible with your personality traits”. On, then, to drama school, involving relocation to East Londontown. Here Sophie encounters their first adversary, the intimidating and domineering German acting coach who warns “I’m preparing you for a life of rejection and doom.”

Level 2, Find Love, introduces the new adversaries Jasper and Millie from Clapham, before Sophie does indeed find love with another Sophie. “Am I queer, or just self-obsessed?” is the inevitable question. 

Performed with wit, energy and enormous enthusiasm by Sophie Walmsley, CU Later Simulator is a hugely entertaining musical romp through the problems of sexual identity, self-image and the transition into adulthood. Walmsley’s warm and engaging persona captivates the audience as they play all the parts – including the bi-curious Jasper and Millie simultaneously – interspersing boisterous songs with intimate confession.

CU Later is rude, raucous and radical. Leaping from song to song, from confession to revelation, while musical numbers involving life controlled by a double dildo explain the show’s 18 rating. 

Eliza Beth Stevens directs with a sure hand, the inventive and frequently hilarious back projections punctuating the performance and slickly sliding the action from scene to scene. But it’s the vibrant and effervescent personality of the show’s star, Sophie Walmsley, as the drag persona Curly, who makes it such a resounding success. Coping ably with microphone malfunctions on press night, Walmsley shows themself to be a confident improviser as well as an accomplished performer. 

Written by: Sophie Walmsley
Directed by: Eliza Beth Stevens 
Produced by: Jennie Haines

The show was on for one night only at Museum of Comedy. It will play at The Subway for EdFringe from Wednesday 13 to Sunday 24 August.