Tag Archives: Jon Bausor

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

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

★★★½

Royal Shakespeare Theatre

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Royal Shakespeare Theatre

★★★½

“a refreshingly funny and modern production”

Much Ado About Nothing is generally considered one of Shakespeare’s best comedies, because it combines elements of robust hilarity with more serious meditations on honour, shame and court politics. In this fun production at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre under the skilful direction of Michael Longhurst (former Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse and his RSC directing debut) we see the scandal and glamour of international football as a backdrop to this popular rom-com play, exploring the culture of lads, wags and misogyny.

Messina FC has just won the European Cup for the first time and as we enter the auditorium, Jon Bausor’s cleverly designed thrust stage and 3D football stadium immediately immerses us into the world of social media, sponsorship and branding. Team manager Don Pedro (Olivier Huband), along with his captain, Benedick (yes one of a few amusing changes to the original) and their new star player Claudio (Daniel Adeosun making his RSC debut) are invited to take some well-deserved R&R at a villa belonging to Leonato, (an excellent Peter Forbes) owner of their team and his wife Antonia (a feisty Tanya Franks).

Claudio immediately falls in love with their daughter Hero, and everything is set for the wedding of the year. Beatrice – a sports broadcaster – and Benedick both claim to despise the whole notion of love and marriage, but the others plot to make them fall in love. However, Don John, the manager’s brother has a more malicious plot in mind. He tricks Claudio into believing he saw Hero in a compromising situation on the night before their wedding…

For many, the football stadium is still seen as a male space, so misogyny is set up right from the start. The clever use of interactive social media and the ‘deep fake’ pictures of Hero (Eleanor Worthington-Cox, who has a cracking singing voice) would provoke a modern and relatable sense of anger at her betrayal. This was a fascinating and exciting idea and I was eager to see how it would pan out, but even though there were some clever adjustments to the text and some very funny scenes – especially Leonato’s video call – I felt slightly disappointed at the end of the first act. It felt like the dramatic content had been compromised by its own concept. It was hard to believe that Hero was really that innocent, which meant her cancel culture didn’t have as much emotional weight, especially as she and Claudio seemed to provide the main impetus for the plot out of the two romantic couples, whilst Benedick and Beatrice were the foil and dramatic sub plot. However, the play gathered momentum when Benedick (an exceptional Nick Blood) thoroughly amused us with his slapstick humour, whilst maintaining an endearing vulnerability as he was being tricked by his team mates into falling in love with Beatrice (Freema Agyeman).

It seemed like a play of two halves with the second act being far more relatable, zipping along in its contemporary setting like a well oiled machine. Beatrice’s emotional declaration of love for Benedick was quite heart stopping, before she countered the mood with her witty delivery. One of the highlights of this enjoyable production was the hilarious head of security Dogberry (Antonio Margo) whose comic timing and malapropisms were a masterclass in comedy.

This is a refreshingly funny and modern production of Much Ado About Nothing and worthy of being in the premier league.



MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Reviewed on 22nd April 2025

by Sarah Milton

Photography by Marc Brenner

 

 


 

 

 

More ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ reviews:

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING | ★★★★ | THE RED LION | September 2024
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING | ★★★★ | WATERMILL THEATRE NEWBURY | April 2024
SH!T-FACED SHAKESPEARE®: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING | ★★★★★ | LEICESTER SQUARE THEATRE | July 2023
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING | ★★★★ | DUKE OF YORK’S THEATRE | February 2023
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING | ★★★ | JACK STUDIO THEATRE | August 2022

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING