Tag Archives: Georgia Bradshaw

BAT OUT OF HELL THE MUSICAL

★★★★

UK Tour

BAT OUT OF HELL THE MUSICAL

Peacock Theatre

★★★★

“a non-stop blockbuster of a musical”

Jim Steinman’s epic rock and roll masterpiece returns to London as part of its UK tour.

Whispers of Meat Loaf’s original song greet the incoming audience, like hearing a ghost from the past. There are no doubts when the band starts to play in earnest, the bass vibrating through one’s very soul and the audience – many dressed in tour T-shirts – whoops in expectation.

The unassuming but excellent eight-piece band (MD Iestyn Griffiths) are rescued from the invisibility of a pit and displayed high above the stage action. The black stage (set and costume design Jon Bausor) is dominated by a large central sewer pipe leading into who-knows-where and opening out onto the relatively small playing space. A small back room serves as Raven’s bedroom, her bed curiously made from flight cases; a nod to the rock and roll origin of the production, perhaps. Scenes from this room are screened above the stage filmed live by an on-stage video cam-operator (video design Finn Ross).

Strands of Peter Pan, Romeo and Juliet, even West Side Story abound in the wafer-thin plot, though Jay Scheib’s direction shines. A rag-taggle group of boys and girls (The Lost) live in the sewer tunnels below a dystopian, post-apocalyptic Gotham-esque city controlled by a despot ruler who sends in his riot squad for summary beatings of the youth. He fears for the safety of his daughter Raven (Kate Tonkinson), who on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, declares her love for Strat (Glenn Adamson), the unofficial leader of the pack. Falco declares she shall never have him and so the scene of rebellious teenager versus parent who doesn’t understand is set.

Steinman’s songs are, of course, legendary and their narrative content ripe for stage performance and all our favourites are here. Paradise by the Dashboard Light – an anthem for failed marriage – is performed almost straight as from the LP. Falco (Rob Fowler) and Sloane (Sharon Sexton) make out in an open top Chevy (in flashback), awkwardly fumbling their clothing until Sloane commands Falco to ‘stop right there’. Including a girl in referee’s uniform going through the baseball commentary as Falco thinks he’s going to make it to last base, black and white baseball footage is screened above the action to reinforce the imagery. Including too a line-up of twitchy and giggling dancers, there’s so much going on in this scene that it’s hard to know where to focus. But Fowler and Sexton’s voices win-out; together the couple are superb.

The full youth ensemble in their grungy hip-hop attire (shades of Mad Max) give their all and their energy levels are phenomenal. But the choreography (Xena Gusthart) verges on the twee. There is little sense of rock and roll danger and hip thrusts are comedic rather than sexually threatening. For Crying Out Loud is the standout song as the ensemble share the solo lines, and pairings are made amongst the gang, some individual characterisation becoming evident. Bat Out of Hell closes the first act and as Strat’s ‘silver black phantom bike’ breaks up, confetti cannons fire pieces of the broken metal into the air and pyros shoot out tongues of flame. It’s wild, dramatic, over the top, and totally thrilling.

In the second act there’s time for some deceit and treachery, instigated for the best possible reasons, by Tink (the excellent Carla Bertran) but it’s a foregone conclusion that young love will out. I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That) is inexplicably the show’s closing number, and the only ensemble piece that feels to go on too long.

Of course, the strength of the singers is the be all for a production of this type and Glenn Adamson and especially Katie Tonkinson do not disappoint. They are both excellent throughout and well supported by the full ensemble. This is a non-stop blockbuster of a musical, sung powerfully and tunefully throughout, and danced with total commitment. An absolute blast.



BAT OUT OF HELL THE MUSICAL

Peacock Theatre then UK Tour continues

Reviewed on 22nd May 2025

by Phillip Money

Photography by Chris Davis Studio

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

Last ten shows reviewed at Sadler’s Wells venues:

SPECKY CLARK | ★★★ | May 2025
SNOW WHITE: THE SACRIFICE | ★★★★★ | April 2025
SKATEPARK | ★★★★ | April 2025
MIDNIGHT DANCER | ★★★★ | March 2025
THE DREAM | ★★★★★ | March 2025
DEEPSTARIA | ★★★★ | February 2025
VOLLMOND | ★★★★★ | February 2025
DIMANCHE | ★★★★ | January 2025
SONGS OF THE WAYFARER | ★★★★ | December 2024
NOBODADDY (TRÍD AN BPOLL GAN BUN) | ★★★★ | November 2024

 

BAT OUT OF HELL

BAT OUT OF HELL

BAT OUT OF HELL

Bare: A Pop Opera
★★★

The Vaults

Bare: A Pop Opera

Bare: A Pop Opera

The Vaults

Reviewed – 26th June 2019

★★★

 

“the unevenness of the ride took away from the power of the piece as a whole”

 

The Vaults had quite a buzz on last night: the house was packed to the rafters, and there were a few celebrities and attendant paparazzi knocking about. Having only been there for the festival, it was fun to see the whole of the end bar area given over to a production, and the space was completely transformed by the addition of a raised traverse stage. The ramped-up atmosphere definitely spoke of this production as ‘an event’, so it was something of a surprise to discover (in very small print in the programme) that this was, in fact, a revival of a piece premiered in California in 2000.

The premise is a simple one: two boys in the graduating class of an American Catholic high school are in love. Their love is secret from their family and friends, and they also struggle with feelings of guilt within their faith. The graduating class are performing Romeo & Juliet, and this cauldron of adolescent love, guilt and desire finally brims over, with tragic consequences.

The UK is currently suffering an upsurge in anti-LGBTQ attacks, particularly in the face of legislation over inclusive sex education, and there is therefore no doubt that this is, unfortunately, a timely staging. Despite this, Bare does seem somewhat dated. The Romeo and Juliet forbidden love trope is well-used, and Stacy Francis’ role as the sassy Sister Chantelle – though splendidly sung – is now most certainly a cliché.

Though a fair amount of lyrics were lost in the ensemble pieces, as well as in some of the smaller cameo moments, the energy and commitment of the cast was undeniable throughout, and there were some stand-out performances. Darragh Cowley sang beautifully, and perfectly captured the conflict between Jason’s inner and outer selves; Georgie Lovatt was sensational as Nadia (this is her professional debut and we will most definitely be seeing her again) and Jo Napthine was electric in her big solo number in the second half.

The second half was much stronger than the first – both musically and dramatically. The two duets, See Me and Cross, packed a much-needed emotional punch after the rather bland pre-interval soundscape, and Lizzie Emery, as Ivy, finally got to show us her musical theatre chops in her terrific solo All Grown Up. It was just a pity that all the musical and dramatic heft came in the second half, because the unevenness of the ride took away from the power of the piece as a whole.

There were a couple of arresting set-pieces, in which Stuart Rogers’ choreography was perfectly complemented by the lighting (Andrew Ellis) and sound design (Ross Portway), but there was also a fair amount of unnecessary movement which was distracting and didn’t seem fully realised. As it stands, Bare is a pretty solid evening of musical theatre (opera doesn’t seem right) with an undeniably important message, but there’s a leaner, more devastating piece fighting to get out.

 

Reviewed by Rebecca Crankshaw

Photography by Tom Grace

 


Bare: A Pop Opera

The Vaults until 4th August

 

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:
Anna X | ★★★★ | March 2019
Ares | ★★★★ | March 2019
Check In/Check Out | ★★★ | March 2019
Donal The Numb | ★★★★ | March 2019
Essex Girl | ★★★★ | March 2019
Feed | ★★★★ | March 2019
How Eva Von Schnippisch Won WWII | ★★★★ | March 2019
The Talented Mr Ripley | ★★★★ | March 2019
Vulvarine | ★★★★★ | March 2019
Me and my Whale | ★★★ | June 2019

 

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